Substrate processing apparatus, substrate processing system, and substrate processing method

ABSTRACT

A top plate when located at a first position is held by an opposing-member holder, and the top plate when located at a second position is held by a substrate holder and rotated along with the substrate holder. In a substrate processing apparatus, a first processing liquid nozzle located at a supply position inside a to-be-held part of the top plate supplies a first processing liquid through an opposing-member opening to a substrate and is moved from the supply position to its retracted position, and a second processing liquid nozzle is moved from its retracted position to the supply position and supplies a second processing liquid through the opposing-member opening to the substrate. This configuration suppresses or prevents mixture of multiple types of processing liquids, as compared with the case where multiple types of processing liquids are sequentially supplied from a single processing liquid nozzle.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a technique for processing a substrate.

BACKGROUND ART

A manufacturing process for manufacturing semiconductor substrates(hereinafter, simply referred to as “substrates”) conventionallyinvolves various types of processing to be performed on the substrates.Examples of the processing include chemical processing such asprocessing for supplying a chemical solution onto a substrate that has aresist pattern on its surface to etch the surface of the substrate. Thechemical processing is followed by cleaning processing for cleaning thesubstrate by supplying a cleaning solution to the substrate and dryprocessing for drying the substrate.

For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3621568 (Document 1)discloses a substrate cleaning apparatus in which a lid member is placedon spin chunks that hold a wafer in a horizontal position and is rotatedalong with the wafer. When cleaning the substrate, a cleaning liquid issupplied from an upper nozzle located above and away from the lid memberonto a substrate that is being rotated, through an opening of the lidmember that is provided in the center of rotation. Examples of thecleaning liquid include hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuricacid, phosphoric acid, ammonia, and a hydrogen peroxide solution. Then,deionized water is supplied from the upper nozzle onto the rotatingsubstrate to wash out the cleaning liquid adhering to the substrate.When subsequently drying the substrate, a nitrogen gas (N₂) is ejectedfrom the above upper nozzle and supplied through the opening of the lidmember onto the wafer. This reduces the oxygen concentration in thespace between the lid member and the wafer and accelerates drying of thesubstrate.

The above lid member is made of a magnetic material such as iron. Whenmoving the lid member upward away from the spin chunks, the lid memberis adsorbed by an adsorptive member that is coupled to an electromagnetprovided at the end of an arm, and is moved along with the arm. Thesubstrate cleaning apparatus enables or disables the application ofcurrent to the electromagnet, with the adsorptive member kept in contactwith the lid member, to allow the lid member to be adsorbed by orreleased from the adsorptive member.

Incidentally, in the substrate cleaning apparatus of Document 1, thecleaning liquid (e.g., hydrofluoric acid) and deionized water aresuccessively supplied from the same nozzle. This may cause mixture ofthe cleaning liquid and deionized water in the nozzle.

Also, in the substrate cleaning apparatus of Document 1, outside airaround the lid member may enter from a gap between the end of the uppernozzle and the opening of the lid member through the opening to thespace between the lid member and the substrate. Thus, there is an upperlimit to the extent of a reduction in the oxygen concentration in thespace between the lid member and the wafer.

Moreover, the substrate cleaning apparatus of Document 1 requires thelid member to absolutely include a magnetic material because the lidmember is adsorbed and held by a magnetic force. A holder that holds thelid member also has to include an electromagnet and needs to controlturning on and off of the electromagnet. This may complicate aconfiguration for holding the lid member.

In the substrate cleaning apparatus of Document 1, the cleaning liquidsupplied to the wafer repeatedly adheres to and is dried on the lowersurface of the liquid member, which is an opposing member that opposesthe wafer. As a result, residues of the cleaning liquid may be graduallyaccumulated on the lower surface of the lid member and become a sourceof pollution. This requires the lid member to be removed from thesubstrate cleaning apparatus for maintenance. At this time, thesubstrate cleaning apparatus is unable to perform processing such ascleaning the substrate, and therefore, the productivity of the apparatusmay be reduced.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention is intended for a substrate processing apparatusfor processing a substrate, and it is an object of the present inventionto suppress mixture of a plurality of types of processing liquids.Another object of the present invention is to reduce the entry ofoutside air into the space between an opposing member and a substrate.Yet another object of the present invention is to hold the opposingmember with a simple configuration and to move an opposing-member holderbetween a holding position and a retracted position with a simpleconfiguration. Yet another object of the present invention is to enablereplacement of opposing members to be used and to suppress a reductionin productivity during substrate processing. The present invention isalso directed to a substrate processing system for processing asubstrate and a substrate processing method of processing a substrate.

A substrate processing apparatus according to an aspect of the presentinvention includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate in ahorizontal position, an opposing member that opposes an upper surface ofthe substrate and has an opposing-member opening in a central part, anopposing-member conveying mechanism for holding the opposing member andmoving the opposing member relative to the substrate holder between afirst position and a second position in an up-down direction, a firstprocessing liquid supply part for supplying a first processing liquidthrough a first processing liquid nozzle to the upper surface of thesubstrate, a second processing liquid supply part for supplying a secondprocessing liquid through a second processing liquid nozzle to the uppersurface of the substrate, a nozzle moving mechanism for individuallymoving the first processing liquid nozzle and the second processingliquid nozzle, specifically, moving the first processing liquid nozzlebetween a supply position above the opposing-member opening and a firstretracted position around the substrate holder and moving the secondprocessing liquid nozzle between the supply position and a secondretracted position around the substrate holder, a substrate rotationmechanism for rotating the substrate along with the substrate holderabout a central axis pointing in the up-down direction, a controller forcontrolling the first processing liquid supply part, the secondprocessing liquid supply part, and the nozzle moving mechanism, and agas supply part for supplying a gas to a space between the opposingmember and the substrate. The opposing member that is located at thefirst position is held by the opposing-member conveying mechanism andspaced above from the substrate holder, and the opposing member that islocated at the second position is held by the substrate holder androtated along with the substrate holder by the substrate rotationmechanism. Under the control of the controller, the first processingliquid is supplied through the opposing-member opening to the substratewith the first processing liquid nozzle being located at the supplyposition, the first processing liquid nozzle is moved from the supplyposition to the first retracted position, the second processing liquidnozzle is moved from the second retracted position to the supplyposition, and the second processing liquid is supplied through theopposing-member opening to the substrate. This suppresses mixture of aplurality of types of processing liquids.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the opposing memberincludes an opposing-member body that opposes the upper surface of thesubstrate and has the opposing-member opening in the central part, and atubular to-be-held part that protrudes upward from the periphery of theopposing-member opening of the opposing-member body and is held by theopposing-member conveying mechanism. The first processing liquid nozzleand the second processing liquid nozzle, when located at the supplyposition, are inserted through an upper opening of the to-be-held part.

A substrate processing apparatus according to another aspect of thepresent invention includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate ina horizontal position, an opposing member that opposes an upper surfaceof the substrate, has an opposing-member opening in a central part, andhas a tubular to-be-held part that protrudes upward from the peripheryof the opposing-member opening, an opposing-member conveying mechanismfor holding the to-be-held part of the opposing member and moving theopposing member relative to the substrate holder between a firstposition and a second position in an up-down direction, a processingliquid nozzle located on the inner side of the to-be-held part and forejecting a processing liquid through the opposing-member opening towardthe upper surface of the substrate, a substrate rotation mechanism forrotating the substrate along with the substrate holder about a centralaxis pointing in the up-down direction, and a gas supply part forsupplying a gas to a space between the opposing member and thesubstrate. The opposing member that is located at the first position isheld by the opposing-member conveying mechanism and spaced above fromthe substrate holder, and the opposing member that is located at thesecond position is held by the substrate holder and rotated along withthe substrate holder by the substrate rotation mechanism, and the gassupply part supplies a gas to a gap between an inner surface of theto-be-held part of the opposing member and an outer surface of theprocessing liquid nozzle. This reduces the entry of outside air into thespace between the opposing member and the substrate.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processingliquid nozzle protrudes downward from the opposing-member conveyingmechanism and is inserted through an upper opening of the to-be-heldpart, and the gas from the gas supply part is supplied from the upperopening of the to-be-held part into the to-be-held part via theopposing-member conveying mechanism.

A substrate processing apparatus according to another aspect of thepresent invention includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate ina horizontal position, an opposing member that opposes an upper surfaceof the substrate, has an opposing-member opening in a central part, andhas a tubular to-be-held part that protrudes upward from the peripheryof the opposing-member opening, an opposing-member holder for holdingthe to-be-held part of the opposing member, an opposing-member elevatingmechanism for moving the opposing member relative to the substrateholder between a first position and a second position in an up-downdirection, a processing liquid nozzle located on the inner side of theto-be-held part and for ejecting a processing liquid through theopposing-member opening toward the upper surface of the substrate, asubstrate rotation mechanism for rotating the substrate along with thesubstrate holder about a central axis pointing in the up-down direction,and an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism for moving theopposing-member holder between a holding position above the opposingmember and a retracted position around the opposing member. The opposingmember that is located at the first position is held by theopposing-member holder and spaced above from the substrate holder, andthe opposing member that is located at the second position is held bythe substrate holder and rotated along with the substrate holder by thesubstrate rotation mechanism. The to-be-held part includes a cylindricalflange connector centered on the central axis, and an opposing-memberflange part that extends radially outward from an upper end of theflange connector. The opposing-member holder includes: a first flangesupporter that is in contact with and supports part of theopposing-member flange part of the opposing member from the undersidewhen the opposing member is located at the first position, a secondflange supporter that is located on the opposite side to the firstflange supporter with the flange connector located therebetween and thatis in contact with and supports part of the opposing-member flange partof the opposing member from the underside when the opposing member islocated at the first position, and a holder body on which the firstflange supporter and the second flange supporter are mounted. With theopposing member being located at the second position, the first flangesupporter and the second flange supporter are horizontally moved tospace the first flange supporter and the second flange supporterradially outward from the opposing-member flange part or to dispose thefirst flange supporter and the second flange supporter below theopposing-member flange part. This configuration allows the opposingmember to be held with a simple configuration and allows theopposing-member holder to move between the holding position and theretracted position with a simple configuration.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the first flangesupporter and the second flange supporter are fixed to the holder body,the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism horizontally rotates theholder body to move the opposing-member holder between the holdingposition and the retracted position, and the rotation of the holder bodycauses the first flange supporter and the second flange supporter to bespaced radially outward from the opposing-member flange part or to bedisposed below the opposing-member flange part.

A substrate processing apparatus according to another aspect of thepresent invention includes a substrate holder for holding a substrate ina horizontal position, an opposing member that opposes an upper surfaceof the substrate, a processing liquid supply part for supplying aprocessing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, a substraterotation mechanism for rotating the substrate along with the substrateholder about a central axis pointing in an up-down direction, anopposing-member storage part capable of housing the opposing member, andan opposing-member conveying mechanism for holding the opposing member,moving the opposing member relative to the substrate holder between afirst position and a second position in the up-down direction, andconveying the opposing member between a position above the substrateholder and the opposing-member storage part. The opposing member that islocated at the first position is held by the opposing-member conveyingmechanism and spaced above from the substrate holder, and the opposingmember that is located at the second position is held by the substrateholder and rotated along with the substrate holder by the substraterotation mechanism, and the opposing-member conveying mechanism conveysthe opposing member from the position above the substrate holder intothe opposing-member storage part and conveys another opposing memberhoused in the opposing-member storage part out of the opposing-memberstorage part to the position above the substrate holder. Thisconfiguration enables replacement of opposing members to be used.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the opposing memberand the another opposing member are of different types.

These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become more apparent from the following detaileddescription of the present invention when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to afirst embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of around an end portion of anopposing-member holder;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a gas-liquid supply part;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of part of a first processing liquidnozzle;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of around the first processing liquidnozzle;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 12A is a flowchart of processing performed on a substrate;

FIG. 12B is a flowchart of processing performed on the substrate;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according toa second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according toa third embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of around the first processing liquidnozzle;

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus;

FIG. 20A is a flowchart of processing performed on a substrate;

FIG. 20B is a flowchart of processing performed on the substrate;

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus andillustrates another example of the opposing-member holder;

FIG. 22 is a plan view of a substrate processing system according to afourth embodiment;

FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system;

FIG. 24 is a plan view of a processing unit;

FIG. 25 is a plan view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 27 is an enlarged perspective view of around an end portion of theopposing-member holder;

FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 29 is a side view of an opposing-member storage part;

FIG. 30 is a plan view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 32 is a block diagram of the gas-liquid supply part;

FIG. 33 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 34 is a plan view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 34A is a flowchart of processing performed on a substrate;

FIG. 35B is a flowchart of processing performed on the substrate;

FIG. 35C is a flowchart of processing performed on the substrate;

FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 37 is a plan view of a processing unit of a substrate processingsystem according to a fifth embodiment;

FIG. 38 is a plan view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 39 is a plan view of part of the processing unit;

FIG. 40 is a plan view of the processing unit;

FIG. 41 is a plan view of a substrate processing system according to asixth embodiment;

FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing system;

FIG. 43 is a cross-sectional view of part of a processing unit; and

FIG. 44 is a plan view of part of the processing unit and illustratesanother example of the opposing-member holder.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according toa first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectionalview of the substrate processing apparatus 1 taken along II-II inFIG. 1. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a sheet-fed apparatusfor processing semiconductor substrates 9 (hereinafter, simply referredto as “substrates 9”) one at a time. The substrate processing apparatus1 is housed in a housing 11, which is an apparatus housing chamber. InFIG. 1, the housing 11 is indicated by a broken line.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a controller 21, asubstrate holder 31, a substrate rotation mechanism 33, a cup part 37, afirst processing liquid nozzle 411, a second processing liquid nozzle421, a nozzle moving mechanism 43, a nozzle cleaning part 44, a topplate 51, an opposing-member holder 53, an opposing-member elevatingmechanism 55, and an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. Thecontroller 21 controls constituent elements of, for example, thesubstrate rotation mechanism 33, the nozzle moving mechanism 43, thenozzle cleaning part 44, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55, andthe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 and constituent elementsof, for example, a first processing liquid supply part 413, a secondprocessing liquid supply part 423, and a gas supply part 45, which willbe described later. In FIG. 2 onward, the controller 21 is not shown.

In FIG. 1, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 are spaced from the top plate 51 in a planview and located at their respective retracted positions around the topplate 51. In the following description, when there is no particular needto distinguish between the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421, the first processing liquid nozzle411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 are collectivelyreferred to as “processing liquid nozzles,” or either the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 or the second processing liquid nozzle 421is simply referred to as a “processing liquid nozzle.”

The substrate holder 31 holds a substrate 9 in a horizontal position.The substrate holder 31 includes a base part 311, a plurality of chucks312, and a plurality of engagement parts 313. The base part 311 is agenerally disc-shaped member centered on a central axis J1 pointing inthe up-down direction. The substrate 9 is disposed above the base part311. The chucks 312 are generally equiangularly spaced about the centralaxis J1 and circumferentially arranged on the outer periphery of theupper surface of the base part 311. The chucks 312 of the substrateholder 31 hold the outer edge of the substrate 9. The engagement parts313 are generally equiangularly spaced about the central axis J1 andcircumferentially arranged on the outer periphery of the upper surfaceof the base part 311. The engagement parts 313 are located radiallyoutward of the chucks 312. The substrate rotation mechanism 33 islocated below the substrate holder 31. The substrate rotation mechanism33 rotates the substrate 9 along with the substrate holder 31 about thecentral axis J1.

The cup part 37 is an annular member centered on the central axis J1 andis located radially outward of the substrate 9 and the substrate holder31. The cup part 37 covers the entire circumferences of the substrate 9and the substrate holder 31 and receives, for example, processingliquids that are dispersed from the substrate 9 to the surroundings. Thecup part 37 has a discharge port (not shown) at the bottom. Theprocessing liquids or other substances received by the cup part 37 aredischarged through the discharge port to the outside of the housing 11.Also, gases in the cup part 37 are exhausted through the discharge portto the outside of the housing 11.

The top plate 51 is a generally circular member in a plan view. The topplate 51 is an opposing member that opposes an upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 and acts as a shield plate that shields above the top of thesubstrate 9. The top plate 51 includes an opposing-member body 511, ato-be-held part 512 and a plurality of engagement parts 513. Theopposing-member body 511 is a generally disc-shaped member centered onthe central axis J1. The opposing-member body 511 opposes the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9. The opposing-member body 511 has anopposing-member opening 514 in the central part. The opposing-memberopening 514 is, for example, generally circular in a plan view. Thediameter of the opposing-member opening 514 is smaller enough than thediameter of the substrate 9. The engagement parts 513 are generallyequiangularly spaced about the central axis J1 and circumferentiallyarranged on the outer periphery of the lower surface of theopposing-member body 511.

The to-be-held part 512 is a tubular part that protrudes upward from theperiphery of the opposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-member body511. The to-be-held part 512 includes a flange connector 515 and anopposing-member flange part 516. The flange connector 515 has agenerally cylindrical shape centered on the central axis J1. The flangeconnector 515 is connected to the opposing-member body 511 in thevicinity of the edge of the opposing-member opening 514. Theopposing-member flange part 516 extends radially outward from the upperend of the flange connector 515. The opposing-member flange part 516has, for example, a generally annular plate-like shape centered on thecentral axis J1.

The opposing-member holder 53 holds the to-be-held part 512 of the topplate 51. The opposing-member holder 53 includes a holder body 531, afirst flange supporter 532, a first connector 533, a second flangesupporter 534, and a second connector 535. The holder body 531 is arod-like arm that extends generally horizontally. A base (i.e., theright end in FIG. 2) of the holder body 531 is connected to theopposing-member elevating mechanism 55 and the opposing-member-holdermoving mechanism 57. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, theopposing-member holder 53, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55,and the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 constitute anopposing-member conveying mechanism for conveying the top plate 51. Theopposing-member conveying mechanism may include other constituentelements.

Inside the holder body 531 is a holder inner space 536 that extendsgenerally along the entire length of the holder body 531. The lowersurface of the tip end of the holder body 531 has an opening 537 a thatcommunicates with the holder inner space 536. The opening 537 a islocated above the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51.

The first flange supporter 532, the first connector 533, the secondflange supporter 534, and the second connector 535 are mounted on thetip end of the holder body 531. The first flange supporter 532 and thefirst connector 533 are located in the vicinity of the tip end of theholder body 531, and the second flange supporter 534 and the secondconnector 535 are located between the base of the holder body 531 and apair of the first flange supporter 532 and the first connector 533. Thesecond flange supporter 534 is located on the opposite side to the firstflange supporter 532 with the flange connector 515 of the top plate 51located therebetween.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of around the end portion of theopposing-member holder 53. In FIG. 3, the holder body 531 and theopposing-member body 511 are not shown. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3,the first connector 533 and the second connector 535 are each agenerally flat plate-like part that extends downward from the lowersurface of the holder body 531. The first connector 533 and the secondconnector 535 each extend in a direction that is generally perpendicularto the longitudinal direction of the holder body 531. The first flangesupporter 532 is a generally flat plate-like part that extends generallyhorizontally from the lower end of the first connector 533. The firstflange supporter 532 extends from the first connector 533 toward thebase of the holder body 531. The second flange supporter 534 is agenerally flat plate-like part that extends generally horizontally fromthe lower end of the second connector 535. The second flange supporter534 extends from the second connector 535 toward the tip end of theholder body 531.

The distance in the longitudinal direction of the holder body 531between the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter534 is smaller than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flangepart 516 of the top plate 51 and greater than the outer diameter of theflange connector 515. The distance in the longitudinal direction of theholder body 531 between the first connector 533 and the second connector535 is greater than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flangepart 516. As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the opening 537 a is locatedbetween the first connector 533 and the second connector 535 in thelongitudinal direction of the holder body 531.

In the example in FIG. 1, the first flange supporter 532 and the secondflange supporter 534 are fixed to the holder body 531 via the firstconnector 533 and the second connector 535. In other words, the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are non-movableparts of the opposing-member holder 53, and the positions of the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 relative to theholder body 531 remain unchanged.

With the top plate 51 located at the position illustrated in FIG. 2, thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are eachin contact with and support part of the opposing-member flange part 516of the top plate 51 from the underside. Thus, the top plate 51 issuspended from the opposing-member holder 53 above the substrate 9 andthe substrate holder 31. In the following description, this position ofthe top plate 51 in the up-down direction in FIG. 2 is referred to as a“first position.” The top plate 51 that is located at the first positionis held by the opposing-member holder 53 and spaced above from thesubstrate holder 31.

The first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534includes a mobility limiting part (not shown) for limiting a positionalshift of the top plate 51 (i.e., movement and rotation of the top plate51). The mobility limiting part includes, for example, protrusions thatprotrude upward from the upper surfaces of the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534, and through holes of theopposing-member flange part 516 in which the protrusions are inserted.Alternatively, the mobility limiting part may, for example, includeprotrusions that protrude upward from the upper surfaces of the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 and that are incontact with the outer edge of the opposing-member flange part 516. Thesame applies to a substrate processing apparatus 1 a, which will bedescribed later.

The opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 moves the top plate 51 alongwith the opposing-member holder 53 in the up-down direction. FIG. 4 is across-sectional view illustrating the top plate 51 that has been moveddown from the first position illustrated in FIG. 2. In the followingdescription, the position of the top plate 51 in the up-down directionin FIG. 4 is referred to as a “second position.” That is, theopposing-member elevating mechanism 55 moves the top plate 51 betweenthe first position and the second position in the up-down direction. Thesecond position is a position below the first position. In other words,the second position is a position at which the top plate 51 is closer tothe substrate holder 31 in the up-down direction than at the firstposition.

With the top plate 51 located at the second position, the engagementparts 513 of the top plate 51 are respectively engaged with theengagement parts 313 of the substrate holder 31. The engagement parts513 are supported from below by the engagement parts 313. For example,the engagement parts 313 are pins that extend generally parallel to theup-down direction, and the upper ends of the engagement parts 313 fitinto upwardly opening recesses that are formed in the lower ends of theengagement parts 513. The opposing-member flange part 516 of the topplate 51 is spaced above from the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53. Thus, thetop plate 51 that is located at the second position is held by thesubstrate holder 31 and spaced from the opposing-member holder 53 (i.e.,without contact with the opposing-member holder 53). When the substraterotation mechanism 33 is driven with the top plate 51 located at thesecond position, the top plate 51 rotates along with the substrateholder 31.

The opposing-member holder 53 is horizontally movable in the state wherethe top plate 51 is located at the second position, i.e., where theopposing-member flange part 516 is spaced above from the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534. Theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally moves theopposing-member holder 53 that is horizontally movable. In the examplein FIG. 1, the opposing-member holder 53 is moved in the state where thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421 are located at their respective retracted positions. Theopposing-member holder 53 is horizontally moved by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally rotating theholder body 531.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the nozzle moving mechanism 43 includesa first nozzle elevating mechanism 431, a first nozzle rotationmechanism 432, a second nozzle elevating mechanism 433, and a secondnozzle rotation mechanism 434. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 isconnected to the end of the first arm 412 that extends horizontally fromthe first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotationmechanism 432. The first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 moves the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 along with the first arm 412 in the up-downdirection. The first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 horizontally rotatesthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 along with the first arm 412.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 isconnected to the end of a second arm 422 that extends horizontally fromthe second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotationmechanism 434. The second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 moves thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 along with the second arm 422 in theup-down direction. The second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 horizontallyrotates the second processing liquid nozzle 421 along with the secondarm 422.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. Theopposing-member holder 53 is moved by the opposing-member-holder movingmechanism 57 between a position above the top plate 51 as illustrated inFIG. 1 and a position around the top plate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 5(i.e., a position that avoids any overlap with the top plate 51). In thefollowing description, the position of the opposing-member holder 53 ina plan view in FIG. 1 is referred to as a “holding position,” and theposition of the opposing-member holder 53 in a plan view in FIG. 5 isreferred to as a “retracted position.”

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first flange supporter 532and the second flange supporter 534 are horizontally moved by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 rotating the holder body 531with the top plate 51 located at the second position. Accordingly, whenthe opposing-member holder 53 is located at the holding position, thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are movedradially outward away from the opposing-member flange part 516 and theflange connector 515 to the retracted position. When the opposing-memberholder 53 is located at the retracted position, the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are moved to theholding position and disposed below the opposing-member flange part 516.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the gas-liquid supply part 4, related tothe supply of gases and processing liquids in the substrate processingapparatus 1. The gas-liquid supply part 4 includes the first processingliquid nozzle 411, the second processing liquid nozzle 421, the firstprocessing liquid supply part 413, the second processing liquid supplypart 423, and the gas supply part 45. The first processing liquid supplypart 413 is connected to the first processing liquid nozzle 411. As willbe described later, with the first processing liquid nozzle 411 locatedabove the substrate 9, the first processing liquid supply part 413supplies a first processing liquid through the first processing liquidnozzle 411 to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. The secondprocessing liquid supply part 423 is connected to the second processingliquid nozzle 421. As will be described later, with the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 located above the substrate 9, the secondprocessing liquid supply part 423 supplies a second processing liquidthrough the second processing liquid nozzle 421 to the upper surface 91of the substrate 9. The gas supply part 45 is connected to theopposing-member holder 53 and supplies a gas to the holder inner space536 of the opposing-member holder 53. The gas supply part 45 is alsoconnected to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 and supplies gases to the first processingliquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, various types of liquids areused as the first processing liquid and the second processing liquid.Each of the first processing liquid and the second processing liquidmay, for example, be a chemical solution for use in chemical processingto be performed on the substrate 9 (e.g., a polymer removing solution oran etchant such as hydrofluoric acid or an aqueous solution oftetramethyl ammonium hydroxide). Each of the first processing liquid andthe second processing liquid may also be a cleaning liquid such asdeionized water (DIW) or carbonated water for use in cleaning thesubstrate 9. Each of the first processing liquid and the secondprocessing liquid may also be isopropyl alcohol (IPA) that is suppliedas a substitute for the liquid on the substrate 9. The first processingliquid and the second processing liquid may preferably be liquids ofdifferent types. The gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 may, forexample, be an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas (N₂). Alternatively, thegas supply part 45 may supply various gases other than inert gases.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of part of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 ismade of, for example, tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkylvinylethercopolymer (PFA). The first processing liquid nozzle 411 includes aprocessing liquid passage 416 and two gas passages 417. The processingliquid passage 416 is connected to the first processing liquid supplypart 413 illustrated in FIG. 6. The two gas passages 417 are connectedto the gas supply part 45 illustrated in FIG. 6.

The first processing liquid supplied from the first processing liquidsupply part 413 to the processing liquid passage 416 is ejected downwardfrom an ejection port 416 a that is provided in the lower end surface ofthe first processing liquid nozzle 411. The inert gas supplied from thegas supply part 45 to the gas passage 417 in the center of the nozzle(i.e., the gas passage 417 on the right in FIG. 7) is supplied (e.g.,jet) downward from a lower-surface jet opening 417 a that is provided inthe lower end surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411. Theinert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to the gas passage 417 onthe outer periphery is supplied to the surroundings from a plurality ofside-surface jet openings 417 b, 417 c, and 417 d that are provided inthe outer surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411.

The side-surface jet openings 417 b are circumferentially arrayed atgenerally equiangular intervals. The side-surface jet openings 417 b areconnected to a circumferential passage that extends circumferentiallyfrom the low end of the gas passage 417 on the outer periphery. Theside-surface jet openings 417 c are circumferentially arrayed atgenerally equiangular intervals above the side-surface jet openings 417b. The side-surface jet openings 417 c are connected to acircumferential passage that extends circumferentially from the gaspassage 417. The side-surface jet openings 417 d are circumferentiallyarrayed at generally equiangular intervals above the side-surface jetopenings 417 c. The side-surface jet openings 417 d are connected to acircumferential passage that extends circumferentially from the gaspassage 417. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 may also includeother gas passages 417, and the side-surface jet openings 417 c and theside-surface jet openings 417 d may be connected to the other gaspassages 417.

The inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 (see FIG. 6) issupplied (e.g., jet) obliquely downward from the side-surface jetopenings 417 b and supplied (e.g., jet) obliquely upward from theside-surface jet openings 417 c. The inert gas supplied from the gassupply part 45 is also supplied (e.g., jet) approximately horizontallyfrom the side-surface jet openings 417 d.

Note that the first processing liquid nozzle 421 may include only asingle side-surface jet opening 417 b, a single side-surface jet opening417 c, and a single side-surface jet opening 417 d. The configuration ofthe second processing liquid nozzle 421 is similar to the configurationof the first processing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG. 7. Thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 ejects the second processing liquidfrom ejection ports provided in the lower end surface.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus1. FIG. 8 illustrates a state in which the top plate 51 located at thesecond position is held by the substrate holder 31. The opposing-memberholder 53 has been retracted from the holding position to the retractedposition by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. Asillustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8, with the opposing-member holder 53retracted, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from itsretracted position (i.e., first retracted position) by the first nozzleelevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 andinserted into the to-be-held part 512 through the upper opening 517 ofthe to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51. The first processing liquidnozzle 411 is located inside the to-be-held part 512. In other words,the outer surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 radiallyopposes the inner surface of the to-be-held part 512. In the followingdescription, the position of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 inFIG. 8 is referred to as a “supply position” (the same applies to thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421). In the example in FIG. 8, the end(i.e., lower end) of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located atthe supply position is located above the lower edge of theopposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-member body 511.Alternatively, the end of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 may belocated at the same position as the lower edge of the opposing-memberopening 514 in the up-down direction.

The first processing liquid supplied from the first processing liquidsupply part 413 (see FIG. 6) is ejected from the ejection port 416 a(see FIG. 7) of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 through theopposing-member opening 514 toward the upper surface 91 of the substrate9. Part of the inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 (see FIG.6) is supplied from the lower-surface jet opening 417 a (see FIG. 7) ofthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 through the opposing-memberopening 514 to a space 90 (hereinafter, referred to as a “processingspace 90”) between the top plate 51 and the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first processing liquidnozzle 411 may protrude downward from the opposing-member opening 514 ofthe opposing-member body 511 as illustrated in FIG. 9. In other words,the end of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is located below thelower edge of the opposing-member opening 514. Part of the inert gassupplied from the gas supply part 45 flows down in the first processingliquid nozzle 411 through the opposing-member opening 514 and issupplied from the lower-surface jet opening 417 a of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 to the processing space 90. The firstprocessing liquid supplied from the first processing liquid supply part413 flows down in the first processing liquid nozzle 411 through theopposing-member opening 514 and is ejected from the ejection port 416 aof the first processing liquid nozzle 411 toward the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9. In the following description, the supply of the firstprocessing liquid through the opposing-member opening 514 refers to notonly the state where the first processing liquid ejected from the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 above the opposing-member opening 514passes through the opposing-member opening 514, but also the state wherethe first processing liquid is ejected through the first processingliquid nozzle 411 inserted in the opposing-member opening 514 asillustrated in FIG. 9. The same applies to the second processing liquidnozzle 421 and the second processing liquid, which will be describedlater.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the first processingliquid nozzle 411 in FIG. 8 and around the first processing liquidnozzle 411. In FIG. 10, the top plate 51 is located at the secondposition. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 includes a nozzle body415 and a nozzle flange part 414. The nozzle body 415 has a generallycolumnar shape and is inserted into the flange connector 515 of theto-be-held part 512. The nozzle flange part 414 is connected to theupper end of the nozzle body 415. The nozzle flange part 414 is agenerally disc-shaped part that extends radially outward from the top ofthe nozzle body 415. The nozzle flange part 414 opposes the uppersurface of the opposing-member flange part 516.

In the example in FIG. 10, a labyrinth 54 is formed between the uppersurface of the opposing-member flange part 516 and the lower surface ofthe nozzle flange part 414. To be specific, the labyrinth 54 with afirst protrusion 541 and two second protrusions 543 is formed around theentire circumference, the first protrusion 541 protruding upward fromthe upper surface of the opposing-member flange part 516, and the secondprotrusions 543 protruding downward from the lower surface of the nozzleflange part 414 of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at thesupply position. The first protrusion 541 and the two second protrusions543 have generally cylindrical shapes centered on the central axis J1and have different diameters. The diameter of the first protrusion 541is greater than the diameter of the inner second protrusion 543 andsmaller than the diameter of the outer second protrusion 543. The upperend of the first protrusion 541 is located above the lower ends of thetwo second protrusions 543. When the top plate 51 located at the secondposition is rotated along with the substrate holder 31, the two secondprotrusions 543 do not rotate, and the first protrusion 541 rotatesbetween the two second protrusions 543.

With the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supplyposition, each of the side-surface jet openings 417 b and 417 c radiallyopposes the inner surface of the flange connector 515. Part of the inertgas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to the first processing liquidnozzle 411 is supplied from the side-surface jet openings 417 b and theside-surface jet openings 417 c of the outer surface of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 to a gap 518 between the inner surface ofthe to-be-held part 512 and the outer surface of the first processingliquid nozzle 411. In the gap 518, the inert gas from the gas supplypart 45 is supplied obliquely downward and obliquely upward from theouter surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411. The inert gassupplied obliquely downward from the side-surface jet openings 417 bflows down through the gap 518 and is supplied to the processing space90. The inert gas supplied obliquely upward from the side-surface jetopenings 417 c flows up through the gap 518 and reaches the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512.

Each of the side-surface jet openings 417 d radially opposes thelabyrinth 54 at a position above the opposing-member flange part 516.Part of the inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 is approximately horizontally supplied fromthe side-surface jet openings 417 d of the outer surface of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 toward the labyrinth 54. The inert gassupplied horizontally from the side-surface jet openings 417 d flowscircumferentially outward through the labyrinth 54, along with the inertgas that has been supplied from the side-surface jet openings 417 c andreached the upper opening 517. The same applies to the case where thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 is located at the supply position.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 1. In FIG.11, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from the supplyposition above the top plate 51 illustrated in FIG. 5 by the firstnozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotation mechanism432 and is located at its retracted position that is located around andspaced from above the top plate 51 (i.e., the retracted position islocated around and spaced from an area above the top plate 51) asillustrated in FIG. 11. The second processing liquid nozzle 421 is movedfrom its retracted position (i.e., second retracted position) around thetop plate 51 illustrated in FIG. 5 by the second nozzle elevatingmechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 and islocated at the supply position above the top plate 51 as illustrated inFIG. 11. Our concepts regarding the retracted positions of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421include a space (i.e., evacuation space) with a certain degree of spreadthat allows the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 to oscillate at their retracted positions.

Similarly to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG.10, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located at the above supplyposition is inserted into the to-be-held part 512 through the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51. The end(i.e., lower end) of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located atthe above supply position is located above the lower edge of theopposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-member body 511, similarlyto the first processing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG. 10.Alternatively, the end of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 may belocated at the same position as the lower edge of the opposing-memberopening 514 in the up-down direction.

The supply position of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 11 isspecifically a position above the opposing-member opening 514 of the topplate 51. The retracted positions of the first processing liquid nozzle411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 are positions around thesubstrate holder 31. The nozzle moving mechanism 43 individually movesthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421 between the supply position and their respective retractedpositions.

As illustrated in FIG. 11, the nozzle cleaning part 44 includes a firstcleaning part 441 and a second cleaning part 442. The first cleaningpart 441 is provided in the vicinity of the retracted position of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411. The first cleaning part 441 cleansthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at its retractedposition. The first cleaning part 441 cleans the first processing liquidnozzle 411 by, for example, supplying a cleaning liquid such asdeionized water toward the first processing liquid nozzle 411. Thesecond cleaning part 442 is provided in the vicinity of the retractedposition of the second processing liquid nozzle 421. The second cleaningpart 442 cleans the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located at itsretracted position illustrated in FIG. 1. The second cleaning part 442cleans the second processing liquid nozzle 421 by, for example,supplying a cleaning liquid such as deionized water toward the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421. The first cleaning part 441 and the secondcleaning part 442 may also dry the cleaned first processing liquidnozzle 411 and the cleaned second processing liquid nozzle 421. Whencleaning or drying the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 andthe second processing liquid nozzle 421 may oscillate at their retractedpositions (i.e., in the evacuation space).

Next, an exemplary procedure of processing performed on the substrate 9by the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with referenceto FIGS. 12A and 12B. First, with the top plate 51 located at the firstposition illustrated in FIG. 2, the substrate 9 is conveyed into thehousing 11 and held by the substrate holder 31 (step S11). At this time,the top plate 51 is held by the opposing-member holder 53, and the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421are located at their retracted positions.

Next, the controller 21 (see FIG. 1) controls the opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55 to move the opposing-member holder 53 down. Thetop plate 51 is moved down from the first position to the secondposition and held by the substrate holder 31 as illustrated in FIG. 4(step S12). The inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to theholder inner space 536 of the opposing-member holder 53 flows downthrough the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 and is suppliedthrough the opposing-member opening 514 to the processing space 90.

In step S12, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53 are spaced below from theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51. In this state, thecontroller 21 controls the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 tohorizontally rotate the opposing-member holder 53. The opposing-memberholder 53 is retracted from the holding position above the top plate 51and moved to the aforementioned retracted position (step S13).

Then, with the opposing-member holder 53 located the retracted position,the controller 21 controls the first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 andthe first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 to move the first processingliquid nozzle 411 from its retracted position to the supply position(step S14). The first processing liquid nozzle 411 is inserted throughthe upper opening 517 of the top plate 51 and disposed inside theto-be-held part 512 as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 10.

When the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is located at the supplyposition, the controller 21 controls the gas supply part 45 to supply aninert gas from the lower-surface jet opening 417 a of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 to the processing space 90. The inert gasis also supplied from the side-surface jet openings 417 b and 417 c ofthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 to the gap 518 between the innersurface of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and the outersurface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411. The inert gas is alsosupplied from the side-surface jet openings 417 d of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 toward the labyrinth 54 between the uppersurface of the opposing-member flange part 516 and the lower surface ofthe nozzle flange part 414.

The controller 21 also controls the substrate rotation mechanism 33 tostart rotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and the topplate 51 (step S15). The inert gas continues to be supplied from thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 in step S15 onward. Note that therotation of the top plate 51 and other constituent elements may bestarted (step S15) before the first processing liquid nozzle 411 ismoved to the supply position (step S14). For example, step S15 may beperformed between steps S12 and S13. In this case, in step S13, theopposing-member holder 53 is moved away from the rotating top plate 51to the retracted position.

Then, with the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supplyposition, the first processing liquid supply part 413 supplies the firstprocessing liquid from the first processing liquid nozzle 411 throughthe opposing-member opening 514 of the top plate 51 located at thesecond position to the central part of the upper surface 91 of therotating substrate 9 (step S16). The first processing liquid suppliedfrom the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supplyposition to the central part of the substrate 9 is spread radiallyoutward from the central part of the substrate 9 over the entire uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of the substrate 9. Thefirst processing liquid is dispersed radially outward from the outeredge of the substrate 9 and received by the cup part 37. The firstprocessing liquid is supplied for a predetermined period of time, andthe processing of the substrate 9 using the first processing liquidends.

The first processing liquid is, for example, a chemical solution such asa polymer removing solution or an etchant. In step S16, chemicalprocessing is performed on the substrate 9. Note that the firstprocessing liquid may be supplied (step S16) before the rotation of thesubstrate 9 is started (step S15). In this case, a puddle of the firstprocessing liquid is formed on the entire upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9, and puddling using the first processing liquid isperformed. The same applies to steps S54 and S55, which will bedescribed later.

When the processing of the substrate 9 using the first processing liquidhas ended, the supply of the first processing liquid from the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 is stopped. The first processing liquidnozzle 411 is then moved from the supply position to the retractedposition by the first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the firstnozzle rotation mechanism 432 (step S17).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the controller 21 controls thesecond nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotationmechanism 434 to move the second processing liquid nozzle 421 from theretracted position to the supply position (step S18). With theopposing-member holder 53 located at the retracted position, the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 is inserted through the upper opening 517of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and disposed inside theto-be-held part 512 as illustrated in FIG. 11. Preferably, the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 may be moved (step S18) in parallel withthe movement of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 (step S17). Notethat step S18 may be performed after completion of step S17.

When the second processing liquid nozzle 421 is located at the supplyposition, the inert gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied from thelower-surface jet opening of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 tothe processing space 90. The inert gas is also supplied from theside-surface jet openings of the outer surface of the second processingliquid nozzle 421 to the gap 518 and the labyrinth 54.

Then, the controller 21 controls the second processing liquid supplypart 423 to supply the second processing liquid from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 through the opposing-member opening 514 ofthe top plate 51 located at the second position to the central part ofthe upper surface 91 of the substrate 9, with the second processingliquid nozzle 421 located at the supply position (step S19). The secondprocessing liquid supplied from the second processing liquid nozzle 421located at the supply position to the central part of the substrate 9 isspread radially outward from the central part of the substrate 9 overthe entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of thesubstrate 9. The second processing liquid is dispersed radially outwardfrom the outer edge of the substrate 9 and received by the cup part 37.The second processing liquid is supplied for a predetermined period oftime, and the processing of the substrate 9 using the second processingliquid ends. The second processing liquid is, for example, a cleaningliquid such as deionized water or carbonated water. In step S19,cleaning processing is performed on the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the cleaning of the firstcleaning part 441 cleans the first processing liquid nozzle 411 locatedat the retracted position (step S20) is performed in parallel with themovement of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 (step S18) or thesupply of the second processing liquid (step S19).

When the processing of the substrate 9 using the second processingliquid has ended, the supply of the second processing liquid from thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 is stopped. The substrate 9continues to be rotated, and processing for drying the substrate 9 isperformed. The rotation speed of the substrate 9 during the dryprocessing is faster than the rotation speed thereof during theprocessing of the substrate 9 using the second processing liquid in stepS19. Also, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 is moved from thesupply position to the retracted position by the second nozzle elevatingmechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 (step S21).Then, the second cleaning part 442 cleans the second processing liquidnozzle 421 located at the retracted position (step S22).

The opposing-member holder 53 is horizontally rotated and moved from theretracted position to the holding position by the opposing-member-holdermoving mechanism 57 (step S23). At this time, the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53are spaced below from the opposing-member flange part 516 of the topplate 51 that is being rotated at the second position.

Then, the rotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and thetop plate 51 by the substrate rotation mechanism 33 is stopped (stepS24). The opposing-member holder 53 is then moved upward by theopposing-member elevating mechanism 55 to move the top plate 51 up fromthe second position to the first position (step S25). The top plate 51is spaced above from the substrate holder 31 and held by theopposing-member holder 53. Thereafter, the substrate 9 is conveyed outof the housing 11 (step S26).

Steps S23 to S26 may be performed after completion of step S22.Alternatively, step S22 may be performed in parallel with one or more ofsteps S23 to S26. Step S20 may also be performed in parallel with stepS22, for example. It is sufficient for step S23 to be performed afterstep S21 and before step S25. For example, step S23 may be performedafter step S24, i.e., after the rotation of the top plate 51 and otherconstituent elements is stopped.

As described above, the processing of the substrate 9 using the firstprocessing liquid and the second processing liquid is performed when thetop plate 51 is located at the second position, and the substrate 9 isconveyed into and out of the housing when the top plate 51 is located atthe first position. Thus, the first and second positions described abovemay also be respectively regarded as a “non-processing position” and a“processing position.”

The substrate processing apparatus 1 sequentially performs theabove-described steps S11 to S26 on a plurality of substrates 9 toprocess the substrates 9. Note that step S22 may be performed aftercompletion of step S26, i.e., before the next substrate 9 is conveyedinto the housing, or may be performed in parallel with steps S11 to S17that are performed on the next substrate 9. Alternatively, step S22 maybe performed between steps S17 and S18 that are performed on the nextsubstrate 9.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the topplate 51 that is located at the first position is held by theopposing-member holder 53 and spaced above from the substrate holder 31.The top plate 51 that is located at the second position is held by thesubstrate holder 31 and rotated along with the substrate holder 31 bythe substrate rotation mechanism 33. The gas supply part 45 supplies agas to the processing space 90 between the top plate 51 and thesubstrate 9. This configuration allows a desired gaseous atmosphere tobe created in the processing space 90 and allows the substrate 9 to beprocessed in that gaseous atmosphere. For example, when an inert gas issupplied to the processing space 90, the substrate 9 is processed in aninert gas atmosphere (i.e., low oxygen atmosphere).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the gas supply part 45 alsosupplies a gas to the gap 518 between the inner surface of theto-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and the outer surface of theprocessing liquid nozzle that is located inside the to-be-held part 512(i.e., the first processing liquid nozzle 411 or the second processingliquid nozzle 421 that is located at the supply position). Thus, the gap518 between the top plate 51 rotating along with the substrate 9 and theprocessing liquid nozzle in a stationary state is sealed with the abovegas. This configuration reduces the entry of outside air (i.e.,atmosphere around the processing space 90) into the processing space 90through the gap 518 between the top plate 51 and the processing liquidnozzle. Consequently, the processing space 90 remains in the desiredgaseous atmosphere, and the processing of the substrate 9 is easilyimplemented in that gaseous atmosphere. The aforementioned “outside air”refers to the atmosphere around the processing space 90 in the housing11, i.e., the atmosphere around the top plate 51 and the substrateholder 31. The same applies to the following description.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the gasfrom the gas supply part 45 is supplied from the first processing liquidnozzle 411 during the time that the first processing liquid is suppliedfrom the first processing liquid nozzle 411 to the substrate 9 (stepS16), and the gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied from thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 during the time that the secondprocessing liquid is supplied from the second processing liquid nozzle421 to the substrate 9 (step S19). This simplifies the configuration ofsupplying a gas from the gas supply part 45 to the processing space 90in parallel with the processing of the substrate 9 using the firstprocessing liquid or the second processing liquid.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes the opposing-member-holdermoving mechanism 57 for retracting the opposing-member holder 53 fromabove the top plate 51, with the top plate 51 located at the secondposition. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the retraction of theopposing-member holder 53 from the position above the top plate 51during the rotation of the top plate 51 reduces disturbances in air flowcaused by the opposing-member holder 53 located above the top plate 51.The configuration also improves the degrees of freedom in the shape ofthe upper surface of the top plate 51 and in arranging additionalconstituent elements on that upper surface.

Moreover, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, with theopposing-member holder 53 retracted, the processing liquid nozzle (i.e.,the first processing liquid nozzle 411 or the second processing liquidnozzle 421) is inserted into the to-be-held part 512 through the upperopening 517, and the gas from the gas supply part 45 is directlysupplied from the outer surface of the processing liquid nozzle to thegap 518. This configuration facilitates the supply of a gas to the gap518. Note that the supply of a gas from the gas supply part 45 throughthe opposing-member holder 53 may be omitted. In this case, theopposing-member holder 53 may, for example, be an approximately solidmember. This simplifies the configuration of the opposing-member holder53.

The gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied obliquely upward andobliquely downward from the outer surface of the processing liquidnozzle located at the supply position (i.e., the first processing liquidnozzle 411 or the second processing liquid nozzle 421 that is insertedin the to-be-held part 512). This configuration further reduces theentry of outside air into the gap 518 through the upper opening 517 ofthe to-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the labyrinth 54 is formedbetween the upper surface of the opposing-member flange part 516 and thelower surface of the nozzle flange part 414. The presence of thelabyrinth 54 reduces the possibility that outside air in the vicinity ofthe to-be-held part 512, i.e., outside air below the opposing-memberflange part 516 and on the radial outer side of the flange connector515, will enter from the space between the opposing-member flange part516 and the nozzle flange part 414 into the gap 518 and the processingspace 90 through the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512. Also,the gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied from the outer surfaceof the processing liquid nozzle toward the labyrinth 54. Thisconfiguration further reduces the entry of outside air into the gap 518from the space between the opposing-member flange part 516 and thenozzle flange part 414.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, under the control of thecontroller 21, the first processing liquid is supplied through theopposing-member opening 514 to the substrate 9 with the first processingliquid nozzle 411 located at the supply position, and the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from the supply position to itsretracted position. Then, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 ismoved from its retracted position to the supply position and suppliesthe second processing liquid through the opposing-member opening 514 tothe substrate 9. This configuration suppresses or prevents mixture of aplurality of types of processing liquids, as compared with the casewhere a plurality of types of processing liquids are successivelysupplied from a single processing liquid nozzle. In addition, since thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421 are retractable from the supply position, processing liquidsthat may adhere to, for example, the inner surface of the to-be-heldpart 512 of the top plate 51 are easily removable.

The first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421, when located at the supply position, are inserted into theto-be-held part 512 through the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part512 that protrudes upward from the periphery of the opposing-memberopening 514. This configuration reduces the entry of outside air fromthe opposing-member opening 514 into the processing space 90.Consequently, the processing space 90 remains in the desired gaseousatmosphere, and the processing of the substrate 9 is easily implementedin that gaseous atmosphere.

The ends of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421, when located at the supply position, arelocated above or at the same position as the lower edge of theopposing-member opening 514 in the up-down direction. This configurationreduces the possibility that the first processing liquid supplied fromthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 will adhere to the end of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 as a result of, for example, thefirst processing liquid bouncing off the substrate 9. Similarly, theconfiguration also reduces the possibility that the second processingliquid supplied from the second processing liquid nozzle 421 will adhereto the end of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 as a result of,for example, the second processing liquid bouncing off the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member holder 53includes the first flange supporter 532, the second flange supporter 534located on the opposite side to the first flange supporter 532 with theflange connector 515 located therebetween, and the holder body 531 onwhich the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534are mounted. The first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are in contact with and support part of theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51 from the undersidewhen the top plate 51 is located at the first position. With the topplate 51 located at the second position, the first flange supporter 532and the second flange supporter 534 are horizontally moved to space thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 radiallyoutward from the opposing-member flange part 516 or to dispose the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 below theopposing-member flange part 516.

Thus, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, irrespective of whetherthe top plate 51 located at the second position is in a stationary stateor being rotated, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are easily movable away from the opposing-member flangepart 516 to move the opposing-member holder 53 to the retracted positionwith a simple configuration. Also, irrespective of whether the top plate51 is in a stationary state or being rotated, the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534 are insertable into thepositions below the opposing-member flange part 516 to move theopposing-member holder 53 to the holding position with a simpleconfiguration. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 1 allows thetop plate 51 to be held with a simple configuration and allows theopposing-member holder 53 to be movable between the holding position andthe retracted position with a simple configuration, irrespective of thestate of the top plate 51.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, theopposing-member holder 53 is moved from the retracted position to theholding position (step S23) before the rotation of the top plate 51 andother constituent elements is stopped (step S24). Moving theopposing-member holder 53 to the holding position during the rotation ofthe top plate 51 and other constituent elements in this way shortens thetime required for the processing of the substrate 9 (i.e., the amount oftime from when the substrate 9 is conveyed into the housing to when thesubstrate 9 is conveyed out of the housing), as compared with the casewhere step S23 is performed after step S24. Also, when theopposing-member holder 53 is moved from the holding position to theretracted position (step S13) after the rotation of the top plate 51 andother constituent elements is started (step S15), i.e., when theopposing-member holder 53 is moved to the retracted position during therotation of the top plate 51 and other constituent elements, the timerequired for the processing of the substrate 9 is shortened as comparedwith the case where step S13 is performed before step S15.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first flange supporter 532and the second flange supporter 534 are fixed to the holder body 531.The opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally rotates theholder body 531 to move the opposing-member holder 53 between theholding position and the retracted position. The rotation of the holderbody 531 causes the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 to be spaced radially outward from the opposing-memberflange part 516 or to be disposed below the opposing-member flange part516. This configuration simplifies the configuration of theopposing-member holder 53 and allows the opposing-member holder 53 tomove between the holding position and the retracted position,irrespective of whether the top plate 51 is being rotated or not.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the nozzle cleaning part 44cleans the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the retractedposition. Thus, even if the first processing liquid or other substancesadhere to the first processing liquid nozzle 411, such deposits areremoved and the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is kept clean. Thisconfiguration consequently suppresses or prevents unintended dripping ofthe first processing liquid from the first processing liquid nozzle 411when the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from the retractedposition to the supply position. The configuration also suppresses orprevents unintended dripping of the first processing liquid onto thesubstrate 9 when the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is located atthe supply position.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the nozzle cleaning part 44also cleans the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located at theretracted position. Thus, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 iskept clean. This configuration consequently suppresses or preventsunintended dripping of the second processing liquid from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 when the second processing liquid nozzle421 is moved or when the second processing liquid nozzle 421 is locatedat the supply position.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 a accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention. The substrateprocessing apparatus 1 a includes, instead of the opposing-member holder53, an opposing-member holder 53 a that differs in the orientations ofthe first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 fromthe opposing-member holder 53 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. Theopposing-member holder 53 a also includes a supporter moving mechanism530. The other configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 ais similar to the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1illustrated in FIG. 1, and constituent elements that correspond to thoseof the substrate processing apparatus 1 are given the same referencenumerals in the following description.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, the first flange supporter 532, the firstconnector 533, the second flange supporter 534, and the second connector535 of the opposing-member holder 53 a are mounted on the end portion ofthe holder body 531 via the supporter moving mechanism 530. A pair ofthe first flange supporter 532 and the first connector 533 and a pair ofthe second flange supporter 534 and the second connector 535 are locatedat approximately the same position in the longitudinal direction of theholder body 531. The second flange supporter 534 is located on theopposite side to the first flange supporter 532 with the flangeconnector 515 of the top plate 5 located therebetween.

The first connector 533 and the second connector 535 are generally flatplate-like parts that extend downward from the supporter movingmechanism 530. The first connector 533 and the second connector 535extend in a direction that is generally parallel to the longitudinaldirection of the holder body 531. The first flange supporter 532 is agenerally flat plate-like part that extends generally horizontally fromthe lower end of the first connector 533. The first flange supporter 532extends from the first connector 533 in a direction toward the secondflange supporter 534. The second flange supporter 534 is a generallyflat plate-like part that extends generally horizontally from the lowerend of the second connector 535. The second flange supporter 534 extendsfrom the second connector 535 in a direction toward the first flangesupporter 532.

The distance in a direction (hereinafter, referred to a “widthdirection”) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the holderbody 531 between the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 is smaller than the outer diameter of the opposing-memberflange part 516 of the top plate 51 and greater than the outer diameterof the flange connector 515. The distance in the width direction of theholder body 531 between the first connector 533 and the second connector535 is greater than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flangepart 516.

The supporter moving mechanism 530 generally horizontally moves the pairof the first connector 533 and the first flange supporter 532 and thepair of the second connector 535 and the second flange supporter 534 ina direction that is generally parallel to the longitudinal direction ofthe holder body 531. That is, in the opposing-member holder 53 a, thesupporter moving mechanism 530 is capable of moving the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 relative to the holderbody 531.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, with the holder body 531located at the holding position, the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 are in contact with part of theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51 from the undersideand supports the top plate 51 when the top plate 51 is located at thefirst position. Also, with the holder body 531 located at the holdingposition and the top plate 51 located at the second position, thesupporter moving mechanism 530 moves the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 toward the base of the holder body 531to space the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter534 radially outward from the opposing-member flange part 516 asillustrated in FIG. 14. In this state, the opposing-member holder 53 ais movable between the holding position and the retracted position bythe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally rotating theopposing-member holder 53 a.

Also, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, with the holder body531 located at the holding position and the top plate 51 located at thesecond position, the supporter moving mechanism 530 moves the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 toward the tipend of the holder body 531 to dispose the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 below the opposing-member flange part516 as illustrated in FIG. 13.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, irrespective of whether thetop plate 51 located at the second position is in a stationary state orbeing rotated, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are movable away from the opposing-member flange part 516to move the opposing-member holder 53 a to the retracted position, as inthe substrate processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. Also,irrespective of whether the top plate 51 is in a stationary state orbeing rotated, the opposing-member holder 53 a is movable from theretracted position to the holding position to dispose the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 below theopposing-member flange part 516. That is, the substrate processingapparatus 1 a allows the top plate 51 to be held with a simpleconfiguration and allows the opposing-member holder 53 a to be movablebetween the holding position and the retracted position with a simpleconfiguration, irrespective of the state of the top plate 51. In thisway, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, the opposing-memberholder 53 a is movable between the holding position and the retractedposition during the rotation of the top plate 51 and other constituentelements, as in the substrate processing apparatus 1 illustrated inFIG. 1. This configuration shortens the time required for the processingof the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, the direction of movement ofthe first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 bythe supporter moving mechanism 530 does not necessarily have to be adirection that is generally parallel to the longitudinal direction ofthe holder body 531. For example, the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 may be horizontally moved in a directionthat is generally perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of theholder body 531 by the supporter moving mechanism 530. In this case, thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 may bemoved in directions away from each other and spaced radially outwardfrom the opposing-member flange part 516. Alternatively, the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 may be moved indirections toward each other and disposed below the opposing-memberflange part 516.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 b accordingto a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is across-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 b takenalong XVI-XVI in FIG. 15. An opposing-member holder 53 b of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 b includes a flange supporter 538 and aconnector 539, instead of the first flange supporter 532, the firstconnector 533, the second flange supporter 534, and the second connector535 of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The substrate processingapparatus 1 b also includes a first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and asecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a that have different configurationsfrom the configurations of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 andthe second processing liquid nozzle 421. In the substrate processingapparatus 1 b, the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57illustrated in FIG. 1 is omitted, and the first processing liquid nozzle411 a and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a are inserted intothe to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 through the opposing-memberholder 53 b. The other configuration of the substrate processingapparatus 1 b is similar to the configuration of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and constituentelements that correspond to those in FIGS. 1 and 2 in the followingdescription are given the same reference numerals.

The flange supporter 538 and the connector 539 are mounted on the tipend portion of the holder body 531. The connector 539 is a generallycylindrical part centered on the central axis J1. The connector 539 isfixed to the holder body 531 and extends downward from the lower surfaceof the holder body 531. The flange supporter 538 is a generally annularplate-like part centered on the central axis J1. The flange supporter538 extends radially inward from the lower end of the connector 539. Theinner diameter of the flange supporter 538 is smaller than the outerdiameter of the opposing-member flange part 516.

With the top plate 51 located at the first position as illustrated inFIG. 16, the flange supporter 538 is in contact with and supports partof the opposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51 from theunderside. Thus, the top plate 51 is suspended from the opposing-memberholder 53 b above the substrate 9 and the substrate holder 31. In otherwords, the top plate 51 located at the first position is held by theopposing-member holder 53 b and spaced above from the substrate holder31.

The flange supporter 538 and the opposing-member flange part 516 includemobility limiting parts (not shown) that are engaged with each other tolimit a positional shift of the top plate 51 (i.e., movement androtation of the top plate 51). The mobility limiting parts include, forexample, protrusions that protrude upward from the upper surface of theflange supporter 538, and through holes that are formed in theopposing-member flange part 516 and in which the protrusions areinserted.

The tip end portion of the holder body 531 has a through hole 537 thatvertically penetrates the holder body 531. The through hole 537communicates with the holder inner space 536. In the example in FIG. 16,the through hole 537 includes two generally circular openings 537 aprovided in the upper and lower surfaces of the holder body 531. Thepositions of these two openings 537 a coincide with each other in a planview. The through hole 537 is located above the to-be-held part 512 ofthe top plate 51. The through hole 537 is also located radially inwardof the connector 539 and radially inward of the inner edge of the flangesupporter 538. In the example in FIG. 16, the first processing liquidnozzle 411 a is inserted in the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51through the through hole 537.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus1 b with the top plate 51 located at the second position. When the topplate 51 is moved down and located at the second position by theopposing-member elevating mechanism 55, the opposing-member flange part516 of the top plate 51 is spaced above from the flange supporter 538 ofthe opposing-member holder 53 b. Thus, the top plate 51 located at thesecond position is held by the substrate holder 31 and spaced from theopposing-member holder 53 b (i.e., is not in contact with theopposing-member holder 53 b). When the substrate rotation mechanism 33is driven with the top plate 51 located at the second position, the topplate 51 is rotated along with the substrate holder 31.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a islocated above the top plate 51. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 aprotrudes downward from the holder body 531 of the opposing-memberholder 53 b through the through hole 537 of the opposing-member holder53 b and is inserted in the to-be-held part 512 through the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51. The firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a is located at the supply position insidethe to-be-held part 512. In other words, the outer surface of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a radially opposes the inner surface of theto-be-held part 512. In the example in FIG. 17, the end (i.e., lowerend) of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a is located above thelower edge of the opposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-memberbody 511. Alternatively, the end of the first processing liquid nozzle411 a may be located at the same position as the lower edge of theopposing-member opening 514 in the up-down direction.

FIG. 18 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a in FIG. 17 and the vicinity thereof. In FIG. 18, thetop plate 51 is located at the second position. The first processingliquid nozzle 411 a includes the nozzle body 415 and the nozzle flangepart 414. The side-surface jet openings 417 c and 417 d of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG. 10 are omitted from thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 a. The nozzle body 415 has agenerally columnar shape and is inserted in the flange connector 515 ofthe to-be-held part 512 through the through hole 537 (i.e., the twoopenings 537 a) of the opposing-member holder 53 b. The nozzle flangepart 414 is connected to the upper end of the nozzle body 415. Thenozzle flange part 414 is a generally disc-shaped part that extendsradially outward from the top of the nozzle body 415. The nozzle flangepart 414 is in contact with the upper surface of the opposing-memberholder 53 b and covers the upper opening 537 a. For example, an 0 ringmay be provided between the lower surface of the nozzle flange part 414and the upper surface of the opposing-member holder 53 b.

In the example in FIG. 18, a labyrinth 54 a is formed between the uppersurface of the opposing-member flange part 516 and the opposing-memberholder 53 b. To be specific, the labyrinth 54 a is formed around theentire circumference by a first protrusion 541 and two secondprotrusions 542, the first protrusion 541 protruding upward from theupper surface of the opposing-member flange part 516, and the secondprotrusions 542 protruding downward from the lower surface of the holderbody 531 of the opposing-member holder 53 b. The first protrusion 541and the two second protrusions 542 have generally cylindrical shapescentered on the central axis J1 and have different diameters. Thediameter of the first protrusion 541 is greater than the diameter of theinner second protrusion 542 and smaller than the diameter of the outersecond protrusion 542. The upper end of the first protrusion 541 islocated above the lower ends of the two second protrusions 542. When thetop plate 51 located at the second position rotates along with thesubstrate holder 31, the two second protrusions 542 do not rotate, andthe first protrusion 541 rotates between the two second protrusions 542.

Part of the inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 (see FIG. 6)to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a is supplied from alower-surface jet opening 417 a of the first processing liquid nozzle411 a through the opposing-member opening 514 to the processing space 90between the top plate 51 and the substrate 9. Part of the inert gassupplied from the gas supply part 45 to the first processing liquidnozzle 411 a is supplied from a plurality of side-surface jet openings417 b of the outer surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 ato the gap 518 between the inner surface of the to-be-held part 512 ofthe top plate 51 and the outer surface of the first processing liquidnozzle 411 a. The inert gas supplied obliquely downward from theside-surface jet openings 417 b to the gap 518 flows down through thegap 518 and is supplied to the processing space 90.

The inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to the holder innerspace 536 of the opposing-member holder 53 b passes through theopposing-member holder 53 b and is supplied from the upper opening 517of the to-be-held part 512 to the to-be-held part 512. To be specific,the inert gas supplied from the gas supply part 45 to the holder innerspace 536 is supplied toward the upper and lower openings 537 a of thethrough hole 537. Since, as described above, the upper opening 537 a isclosed with the nozzle flange part 414, the inert gas flows down throughthe lower opening 537 a. Then, the inert gas flows down through theabove gap 518 and is supplied through the opposing-member opening 514 tothe processing space 90. Part of the inert gas supplied from the gassupply part 45 to the holder inner space 536 flows radially outwardabove the opposing-member flange part 516 to the labyrinth 54 a andflows through the labyrinth 54 a to the outside in the circumferentialdirection of the labyrinth 54 a. The same applies to the state in whichthe second processing liquid nozzle 421 a is located at the supplyposition.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 b. InFIG. 19, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a is moved from thesupply position above the top plate 51 in FIG. 15 by the first nozzleelevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 andlocated at its retracted position, which is located around and spacedfrom above the top plate 51. The second processing liquid nozzle 421 ais moved from its retracted position around the top plate 51 in FIG. 15by the second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzlerotation mechanism 434 and located at the supply position above the topplate 51. Our concepts regarding the retracted positions of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a and the second processing liquid nozzle421 a include a space (i.e., evacuation space) with a certain degree ofspread that allows the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a to oscillate at their retractedpositions.

Similarly to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a illustrated inFIG. 18, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a that is located atthe above supply position is inserted into the through hole 537 of theopposing-member holder 53 b and further inserted into the to-be-heldpart 512 through the upper opening 517 (see FIG. 18) of the to-be-heldpart 512 of the top plate 51. The end (i.e., lower end) of the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 a located at the above supply position islocated above the lower edge of the opposing-member opening 514 of theopposing-member body 511, as in the case of the first processing liquidnozzle 411 a in FIG. 18. Alternatively, the end of the second processingliquid nozzle 421 a may be located at the same position as the loweredge of the opposing-member opening 514 in the up-down direction.

Next, an exemplary procedure of processing performed on the substrate 9by the substrate processing apparatus 1 b will be described withreference to FIGS. 20A and 20B. The processing performed on thesubstrate 9 by the substrate processing apparatus 1 b is approximatelythe same as the processing performed on the substrate 9 by the substrateprocessing apparatus 1, except in that steps S13 and S23 of moving theopposing-member holder 53 in FIGS. 12A and 12B are omitted.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, with the top plate 51 locatedat the first position illustrated in FIG. 16, the substrate 9 is firstconveyed into the housing 11 and held by the substrate holder 31 (stepS31). At this time, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a are located at their respectiveretracted positions.

Next, the controller 21 (see FIG. 1) controls the opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55 to move the top plate 51 down from the firstposition to the second position illustrated in FIG. 17 at which the topplate 51 is held by the substrate holder 31 (step S32). The controller21 also controls the first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the firstnozzle rotation mechanism 432 to move the first processing liquid nozzle411 a from the retracted position to the supply position (step S33). Thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 a is inserted into the to-be-heldpart 512 of the top plate 51 through the through hole 537 of theopposing-member holder 53 b and located inside the to-be-held part 512.

Note that steps S32 and S33 may be performed in parallel. Alternatively,the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a may be moved from the retractedposition to above the top plate 51 and inserted into the to-be-held part512 of the top plate 51 located at the first position before step S32.In this case, in step S32, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a isalso moved down along with the top plate 51 in synchronization with thedownward movement of the top plate 51.

The controller 21 then controls the gas supply part 45 to supply aninert gas to the processing space 90 through the lower-surface jetopening 417 a of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a illustrated inFIG. 18. The inert gas is also supplied through the side-surface jetopenings 417 b of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a to the gap518 between the inner surface of the to-be-held part 512 of the topplate 51 and the outer surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411a. Moreover, the insert gas supplied to the holder inner space 536 ofthe opposing-member holder 53 b is supplied to the gap 518 through theupper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512. The inert gas suppliedfrom the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and the opposing-memberholder 53 b to the gap 518 flows down and is supplied to the processingspace 90 through the opposing-member opening 514. Part of the inert gassupplied to the holder inner space 536 is also supplied to the labyrinth54 a.

The controller 21 also controls the substrate rotation mechanism 33illustrated in FIG. 17 to start rotation of the substrate holder 31, thesubstrate 9, and the top plate 51 (step S34). The controller 21 thencontrols the first processing liquid supply part 413 to, with the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a located at the supply position, supplythe first processing liquid from the first processing liquid nozzle 411a through the opposing-member opening 514 of the top plate 51 located atthe second position to the central part of the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 that is being rotated (step S35). The first processingliquid supplied from the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a located atthe supply position to the central part of the substrate 9 is spreadradially outward from the central part of the substrate 9 over theentire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of thesubstrate 9. The first processing liquid is dispersed radially outwardfrom the outer edge of the substrate 9 and received by the cup part 37.In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the first processing liquidis supplied for a predetermined period of time, and the processing ofthe substrate 9 using the first processing liquid ends.

When the processing of the substrate 9 with the first processing liquidhas ended, the supply of the first processing liquid from the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a is stopped. Then, the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a is moved from the supply position to its retractedposition by the first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the firstnozzle rotation mechanism 432 (step S36). After the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a is moved from the supply position, the inert gasfrom the gas supply part 45 is supplied to the processing space 90through the holder inner space 536 of the opposing-member holder 53 band the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the controller 21 controlsthe second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotationmechanism 434 to move the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a from itsretracted position to the supply position as illustrated in FIG. 19(step S37). The second processing liquid nozzle 421 a is inserted intothe to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 through the through hole 537of the opposing-member holder 53 b and located inside the to-be-heldpart 512. Preferably, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a may bemoved (step S37) in parallel with the movement of the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a (step S36). Note that step S37 may be performedafter completion of step S36.

When the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a is located at the supplyposition, the inert gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied throughthe lower-surface jet opening of the second processing liquid nozzle 421a to the processing space 90. The inert gas is also supplied through theside-surface jet openings of the outer surface of the second processingliquid nozzle 421 a to the gap 518 between the inner surface of theto-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and the outer surface of thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a. The inert gas is further suppliedthrough the holder inner space 536 of the opposing-member holder 53 band the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 to the gap 518. Theinert gas supplied to the gap 518 flows down through the opposing-memberopening 514 and is supplied to the processing space 90. Part of theinert gas supplied to the holder inner space 536 is also supplied to thelabyrinth 54 a.

The controller 21 then controls the second processing liquid supply part423 to, with the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a located at thesupply position, supply the second processing liquid from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 a through the opposing-member opening 514of the top plate 51 located at the second position to the central partof the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 (step S38). The secondprocessing liquid supplied from the second processing liquid nozzle 421a located at the supply position to the central part of the substrate 9is spread radially outward from the central part of the substrate 9 overthe entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of thesubstrate 9. The second processing liquid is dispersed radially outwardfrom the outer edge of the substrate 9 and received by the cup part 37.The second processing liquid is supplied for a predetermined period oftime, and the processing of the substrate 9 using the second processingliquid ends.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, in parallel with the movementof the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a (step S37) or the supply ofthe second processing liquid (step S38), the controller 21 controls thefirst cleaning part 441 to clean the first processing liquid nozzle 411a located at the retracted position (step S39).

When the processing of the substrate 9 using the second processingliquid has ended, the supply of the second processing liquid from thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a is stopped. The substrate 9continues to be rotated, and processing for drying the substrate 9 isperformed. Also, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a is moved fromthe supply position to its retracted position by the second nozzleelevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434(step S40). The controller 21 then controls the second cleaning part 442to clean the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a located at theretracted position (step S41).

Also, the rotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and thetop plate 51 by the substrate rotation mechanism 33 is stopped (stepS42). Then, the top plate 51 is moved up from the second position to thefirst position by the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55, spacedabove from the substrate holder 31, and held by the opposing-memberholder 53 b (step S43). Thereafter, the substrate 9 is conveyed out ofthe housing 11 (step S44). Steps S42 to S44 may, for example, beperformed after step S41. Alternatively, step S41 may be performed inparallel with one or more of steps S42 to S44. Step S39 may also beperformed in parallel with step S41, for example.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 b sequentially performs theabove-described steps S31 to S44 on a plurality of substrates 9 toprocess the substrate 9. Note that step S41 may be performed after stepS44 and before the next substrate 9 is conveyed into the housing, or maybe performed in parallel with steps S31 to S36 that are performed on thenext substrate 9. Alternatively, step S41 may be performed between stepsS36 and S37 that are performed on the next substrate 9.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the topplate 51 that is located at the first position is held by theopposing-member holder 53 b and spaced above from the substrate holder31 as in the substrate processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. Thetop plate 51 that is located at the second position is held by thesubstrate holder 31, spaced from the opposing-member holder 53 b, androtated along with the substrate holder 31 by the substrate rotationmechanism 33. The gas supply part 45 supplies a gas to the processingspace 90 between the top plate 51 and the substrate 9. Thisconfiguration allows a desired gaseous atmosphere to be created in theprocessing space 90 and allows the substrate 9 to be processed in thatgaseous atmosphere. For example, when an inert gas is supplied to theprocessing space 90, the substrate 9 is processed in an inert gasatmosphere (i.e., low oxygen atmosphere).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the gas supply part 45supplies a gas to the gap 518 between the inner surface of theto-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and the outer surface of theprocessing liquid nozzle that is located inside the to-be-held part 512(i.e., the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a or the second processingliquid nozzle 421 a that is located at the supply position). Thus, thegap 518 between the top plate 51 rotating along with the substrate 9 andthe processing liquid nozzle in a stationary state is sealed with thegas. This configuration reduces the entry of outside air into theprocessing space 90 from the gap 518 between the top plate 51 and theprocessing liquid nozzle. Consequently, the processing space 90 remainsin the desired gaseous atmosphere, and the processing of the substrate 9is easily implemented in that gaseous atmosphere.

As described above, the processing liquid nozzle located at the supplyposition protrudes downward from the opposing-member holder 53 b and isinserted through the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of thetop plate 51. The gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied via theopposing-member holder 53 b to the to-be-held part 512 through the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512. This configuration reduces theentry of outside air from the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part512 into the processing space 90 not only when the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a areeach located at the supply position, but also during exchange betweenthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and the second processingliquid nozzle 421 a (i.e., when no processing liquid nozzle is locatedinside the to-be-held part 512).

As described above, the processing liquid nozzle located at the supplyposition is inserted into the to-be-held part 512 through the throughhole 537 of the opposing-member holder 53 b above the to-be-held part512. The gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied toward the throughhole 537. When a processing liquid nozzle is located at the supplyposition, the gas flows through the lower opening 537 a of the throughhole 537 to the gap 518. This configuration allows the gas to be easilyguided from the opposing-member holder 53 b to the processing space 90.

During exchange between the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a (i.e., with no processing liquidnozzle inserted in the through hole 537), the gas from the gas supplypart 45 is supplied toward the upper and lower openings 537 a of thethrough hole 537. The gas supplied toward the upper opening 537 areduces the entry of outside air around the opposing-member holder 53 binto the holder inner space 536 through the upper opening 537 a. Also,the gas supplied toward the lower opening 537 a and flowing toward theupper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 and the opposing-memberflange part 516 reduces the possibility that outside air around theto-be-held part 512 will enter the processing space 90 through the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 from the space between the uppersurface of the opposing-member flange part 516 and the opposing-memberholder 53 b.

With the top plate 51 located at the second position, the labyrinth 54 ais formed between the upper surface of the opposing-member flange part516 of the top plate 51 and the opposing-member holder 53 b. Thepresence of the labyrinth 54 a reduces the possibility that outside airaround the to-be-held part 512 will enter the gap 518 and the processingspace 90 through the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 fromthe space between the upper surface of the opposing-member flange part516 and the opposing-member holder 53 b. Moreover, the gas supplied fromthe gas supply part 45 to the holder inner space 536 is supplied throughthe opening 537 a of the lower surface of the holder body 531 to thelabyrinth 54 a. This configuration further reduces the entry of outsideair into the gap 518 from the space between the opposing-member flangepart 516 and the opposing-member holder 53 b.

As described above, the gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied fromthe outer surface of the processing liquid nozzle located at the supplyposition to the gap 518. The direct supply of a gas from the outersurface of the processing liquid nozzle located inside the to-be-heldpart 512 to the gap 518 facilitates the supply of a gas to the gap 518.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, under the control of thecontroller 21, the first processing liquid is supplied through theopposing-member opening 514 to the substrate 9 with the first processingliquid nozzle 411 a located at the supply position, and the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a is moved from the supply position to itsretracted position (i.e., first retracted position). Then, the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 a is moved from its retracted position(i.e., second retracted position) to the supply position and suppliesthe second processing liquid through the opposing-member opening 514 tothe substrate 9. This configuration suppresses or prevents mixture of aplurality of types of processing liquids, as compared with the casewhere a plurality of types of processing liquids are successivelysupplied from a single processing liquid nozzle. Also, the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a and the second processing liquid nozzle421 a are retractable from the supply position. Thus, processing liquidsthat adhere to, for example, the inner surface of the to-be-held part512 of the top plate 51, are easily removable.

As described above, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 a, when located at the supplyposition, are inserted in the through hole 537 of the opposing-memberholder 53 b above the opposing-member opening 514. This facilitates theprocess of alternately disposing the first processing liquid nozzle 411a and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 a at the supply position.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the gasfrom the gas supply part 45 is supplied from the first processing liquidnozzle 411 a during the time that the first processing liquid issupplied from the first processing liquid nozzle 411 a to the substrate9 (step S35), and the gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied fromthe second processing liquid nozzle 421 a during the time that thesecond processing liquid is supplied from the second processing liquidnozzle 421 a to the substrate 9 (step S38). This simplifies theconfiguration of supplying a gas from the gas supply part 45 to theprocessing space 90 in parallel with the processing of the substrate 9using the first processing liquid or the second processing liquid.

FIG. 22 is a plan view illustrating the interior of a substrateprocessing system 10 according to a fourth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processingsystem 10 taken along XXIII-XXIII in FIG. 22. FIG. 23 also illustrates aconfiguration on the back of the cross-section. The substrate processingsystem 10 is a system (apparatus) for processing a semiconductorsubstrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “substrate”).

The substrate processing system 10 includes an indexer 7 and a processor6. The indexer 7 includes a plurality of substrate containers 71, aplurality of substrate container placement parts 72, and an indexerrobot 73. The substrate containers 71 are respectively placed on thesubstrate container placement parts 72. In FIGS. 22 and 23, thesubstrate containers 71 are located on the left side of the indexerrobot 73. Each substrate container 71 houses a plurality of substrates.In each substrate container 71, a plurality of substrates located in ahorizontal position are arrayed and housed away from one another in theup-down direction.

The indexer robot 73 includes an indexer hand 74 and a hand drivemechanism 75. The indexer hand 74 is able to hold a single substrate ina horizontal position. The hand drive mechanism 75 includes, forexample, a forward-backward movement mechanism for moving the indexerhand 74 forward and backward in a horizontal direction, an elevatingmechanism for moving the indexer hand 74 in the up-down direction, and arotation mechanism for rotating the indexer hand 74 about a rotationaxis parallel to the up-down direction.

When the indexer hand 74 is driven by the hand drive mechanism 75, asubstrate (e.g., unprocessed substrate that has not yet been processed)is conveyed out of a substrate container 71, or a substrate (e.g.,processed substrate) is conveyed into a substrate container 71. To bespecific, the hand drive mechanism 75 causes the indexer hand 74 tooppose a substrate container 7 and then move forward to be inserted intothe substrate container 71. The indexer hand 74 is then moved up to holda substrate and thereafter moved backward to convey the substrate out ofthe substrate container 71. In the case of conveying a substrate into asubstrate container 71, reverse operations are performed.

The processor 6 includes a plurality of processing units 61, anintermediate unit 62, and a main conveying robot 63. Each processingunit 61 is a unit that processes a substrate by supplying a processingliquid to the substrate. In a plan view, the processing units 61 arelocated to surround a space 66 where the intermediate unit 62 and themain conveying robot 63 are located. The space 66 is a space for themain conveying robot 63 and is shared among the processing units 61. Inthe following description, this space is referred to as a “shared space66.” In the example illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23, the substrateprocessing system 10 includes 12 processing units 61. To be specific,the substrate processing system 10 has six processing units 61 on eitherside of the shared space 66. Alternatively, the processing units 61 maybe located on only one side of the shared space 66.

The main conveying robot 63 includes a substrate conveying hand 64 and ahand drive mechanism 65. The substrate conveying hand 64 is able to holda single substrate in a horizontal position. The hand drive mechanism 65includes, for example, a forward-backward movement mechanism for movingthe substrate conveying hand 64 forward and backward in a horizontaldirection, an elevating mechanism for moving the substrate conveyinghand 64 in the up-down direction, and a rotation mechanism for rotatingthe substrate conveying hand 64 about a rotation axis parallel to theup-down direction.

When the substrate conveying hand 64 is driven by the hand drivemechanism 65, a substrate (e.g., unprocessed substrate) is conveyed intoa processing unit 61, or a substrate (e.g., processed substrate) isconveyed out of a processing unit 61. To be specific, the hand drivemechanism 65 causes the substrate conveying hand 64 to oppose theconveyance port of a processing unit 61 and then moves the substrateconveying hand 64 in a forward direction to insert the substrate intothe processing unit 61. After the substrate is transferred from thesubstrate conveying hand 64 to a substrate holder 31 (described later)in the processing unit 61, the substrate conveying hand 64 is movedbackward to retract from the processing unit 61. In the case ofconveying a substrate out of a processing unit, reverse operations areperformed.

The intermediate unit 62 is a unit that temporarily holds a substratewhen the substrate is transferred between the indexer robot 73 and themain conveying robot 63. For example, the indexer robot 73 conveys anunprocessed substrate out of a substrate container 71 and conveys theunprocessed substrate into the intermediate unit 62 in which theunprocessed substrate is temporarily held. The main conveying robot 63then conveys the unprocessed substrate out of the intermediate unit 62and conveys the unprocessed substrate into a processing unit 61. Themain conveying robot 63 also conveys a processed substrate out of aprocessing unit 61 and conveys the processed substrate into theintermediate unit 62 in which the processed substrate is temporarilyheld. The processed substrate is then conveyed out of the intermediateunit 62 into a substrate container 71 by the indexer robot 73.

FIG. 24 is a plan view illustrating the interior of one processing unit61. FIG. 25 is an enlarged plan view of part of the processing unit 61illustrated in FIG. 24. FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view of part of theprocessing unit 61 taken along XXVI-XXVI in FIG. 25. The processing unit61 includes a substrate processing apparatus 1 and a housing 11. Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 is a sheet-fed apparatus for processingsubstrates 9 one at a time. The substrate processing apparatus 1 ishoused in the housing 11 that is an apparatus housing chamber. In FIGS.24 to 26, the housing 11 is indicated by a broken line. In the followingdrawings, the housing 11 is also indicated by a broken line. In thesubstrate processing system 10, the other processing units 61 also havethe same configuration as the configuration illustrated in FIGS. 24 to26. In each of the other processing units 61, another substrateprocessing apparatus 1 is housed in another housing 11 that is anotherapparatus housing chamber. The other substrate processing apparatuses 1have the same configuration as the configuration of the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 24 to 26.

As illustrated in FIGS. 24 to 26, the substrate processing apparatus 1includes a substrate holder 31, a substrate rotation mechanism 33, a cuppart 37, a first processing liquid nozzle 411, a second processingliquid nozzle 421, a nozzle moving mechanism 43, a nozzle cleaning part44, a top plate 51, an opposing-member holder 53, an opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55, an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57,and an opposing-member storage part 81. As illustrated in FIG. 24, thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a controller 21. Thecontroller 21 controls constituent elements of, for example, thesubstrate rotation mechanism 33, the nozzle moving mechanism 43, thenozzle cleaning part 44, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55, andthe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. In FIG. 25 andsubsequent drawings, the controller 21 is not shown.

In FIGS. 24 and 25, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 are spaced from the top plate 51 ina plan view and located at their respective retracted positions aroundthe top plate 51. In the following description, when there is noparticular need to distinguish between the first processing liquidnozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421, the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421are collectively referred to as “processing liquid nozzles,” or eitherthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 or the second processing liquidnozzle 421 is simply referred to as a “processing liquid nozzle.”

As illustrated in FIGS. 25 and 26, the nozzle moving mechanism 43includes a first nozzle elevating mechanism 431, a first nozzle rotationmechanism 432, a second nozzle elevating mechanism 433, and a secondnozzle rotation mechanism 434. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 isconnected to the end of a first arm 412 that extends horizontally fromthe first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotationmechanism 432. The first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 moves the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 along with the first arm 412 in the up-downdirection. The first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 horizontally rotatesthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 along with the first arm 412.

As illustrated in FIG. 25, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 isconnected to the end of a second arm 422 that extends horizontally fromthe second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the second nozzle rotationmechanism 434. The second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 moves thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 along with the second arm 422 in theup-down direction. The second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 horizontallyrotates the second processing liquid nozzle 421 along with the secondarm 422.

The substrate holder 31 illustrated in FIGS. 25 and 26 holds a substrate9 in a horizontal position. The substrate holder 31 includes a base part311, a plurality of chucks 312, and a plurality of engagement parts 313.The base part 311 is a generally disc-shaped member centered on acentral axis J1 pointing in the up-down direction. The substrate 9 islocated above the base part 311. The chucks 312 are generallyequiangularly spaced about the central axis J1 and circumferentiallyarranged on the outer periphery of the upper surface of the base part311. In the substrate holder 31, the chucks 312 hold the outer edge ofthe substrate 9 in a horizontal position. The engagement parts 313 aregenerally equiangularly spaced about the central axis J1 andcircumferentially arranged on the outer periphery of the upper surfaceof the base part 311. The engagement parts 313 are located radiallyoutward of the chucks 312. The substrate rotation mechanism 33 islocated below the substrate holder 31. The substrate rotation mechanism33 rotates the substrate 9 along with the substrate holder 31 about thecentral axis J1.

The cup part 37 is an annular member centered on the central axis J1 andis located radially outward of the substrate 9 and the substrate holder31. The cup part 37 covers the entire circumference of the substrate 9and the substrate holder 31 and receives, for example, processingliquids that are dispersed from the substrate 9 to the surroundings. Thecup part 37 has a discharge port (not shown) at the bottom. Theprocessing liquids or other substances received by the cup part 37 aredischarged through the discharge port to the outside of the housing 11.Also, gases in the cup part 37 are exhausted through the discharge portto the outside of the housing 11.

The top plate 51 is a generally circular member in a plan view. The topplate 51 is an opposing member that opposes the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 and acts as a shield plate that shields above the top of thesubstrate 9. The top plate 51 includes an opposing-member body 511, ato-be-held part 512, and a plurality of engagement parts 513. Theopposing-member body 511 is a generally disc-shaped member centered onthe central axis J1. The opposing-member body 511 opposes the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9. The opposing-member body 511 has anopposing-member opening 514 in the central part. The opposing-memberopening 514 is, for example, generally circular in a plan view. Thediameter of the opposing-member opening 514 is smaller enough than thediameter of the substrate 9. The engagement parts 513 are generallyequiangularly spaced about the central axis J1 and circumferentiallyarranged on the outer periphery of the lower surface of theopposing-member body 511.

The to-be-held part 512 is a tubular part that protrudes upward from theperiphery of the opposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-member body511. The to-be-held part 512 includes a flange connector 515 and anopposing-member flange part 516. The flange connector 515 has agenerally cylindrical shape centered on the central axis J1. The flangeconnector 515 is connected to the opposing-member body 511 in thevicinity of the edge of the opposing-member opening 514. Theopposing-member flange part 516 extends radially outward from the upperend of the flange connector 515. The opposing-member flange part 516has, for example, a generally annular plate-like shape centered on thecentral axis J1.

The opposing-member holder 53 holds the to-be-held part 512 of the topplate 51. The opposing-member holder 53 includes a holder body 531, afirst flange supporter 532, a first connector 533 a second flangesupporter 534, and a second connector 535. The holder body 531 is arod-like arm that extends generally horizontally. The base (i.e., theright end in FIG. 26) of the holder body 531 is connected to theopposing-member elevating mechanism 55 and the opposing-member-holdermoving mechanism 57. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, theopposing-member holder 53, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55,and the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 constitute anopposing-member conveying mechanism for conveying the top plate 51. Theopposing-member conveying mechanism may include other constituentelements.

The first flange supporter 532, the first connector 533, the secondflange supporter 534, and the second connector 535 are mounted on thetip end portion of the holder body 531. The first flange supporter 532and the first connector 533 are located in the vicinity of the tip endof the holder body 531, and the second flange supporter 534 and thesecond connector 535 are located between the base of the holder body 531and a pair of the first flange supporter 532 and the first connector533. The second flange supporter 534 is located on the opposite side tothe first flange supporter 532 with the flange connector 515 of the topplate 51 located therebetween.

FIG. 27 is an enlarged perspective view of the vicinity of the endportion of the opposing-member holder 53. In FIG. 27, the holder body531 and the opposing-member body 511 are not shown. As illustrated inFIGS. 25 to 27, the first connector 533 and the second connector 535 areeach a generally flat plate-like part that extends downward from thelower surface of the holder body 531. The first connector 533 and thesecond connector 535 each extend in a direction that is generallyperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the holder body 531. Thefirst flange supporter 532 is a generally flat plate-like part thatextends generally horizontally from the lower end of the first connector533. The first flange supporter 532 extends from the first connector 533toward the base of the holder body 531. The second flange supporter 534is a generally flat plate-like part that extends generally horizontallyfrom the lower end of the second connector 535. The second flangesupporter 534 extends from the second connector 535 toward the tip endof the holder body 531.

The distance in the longitudinal direction of the holder body 531between the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter534 is smaller than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flangepart 516 of the top plate 51 and greater than the outer diameter of theflange connector 515. The distance in the longitudinal direction of theholder body 531 between the first connector 533 and the second connector535 is greater than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flangepart 516.

In the example in FIG. 25, the first flange supporter 532 and the secondflange supporter 534 are fixed to the holder body 531 via the firstconnector 533 and the second connector 535. In other words, the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are non-movableparts of the opposing-member holder 53, and the positions of the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 relative to theholder body 531 remain unchanged.

With the top plate 51 located at the position illustrated in FIG. 26,the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 areeach in contact with and support part of the opposing-member flange part516 of the top plate 51 from the underside. Thus, the top plate 51 issuspended from the opposing-member holder 53 above the substrate 9 andthe substrate holder 31. In the following description, the position ofthe top plate 51 in the up-down direction in FIG. 26 is referred to as a“first position.” The top plate 51 located at the first position is heldby the opposing-member holder 53 and spaced above from the substrateholder 31.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a mobilitylimiting part 58 that limits a positional shift of the top plate 51(i.e., movement and rotation of the top plate 51) held by theopposing-member holder 53, as illustrated in FIG. 27. In the example inFIG. 27, the mobility limiting part 58 includes a plurality ofprotrusions 581 and a plurality of holes 582. The protrusions 581protrude upward from the upper surfaces of the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534. The holes 582 are through holesprovided in the outer periphery of the opposing-member flange part 516.The protrusions 581 provided on the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 are inserted in the holes 582 of theopposing-member flange part 516 to limit a positional shift of the topplate 51. The substrate processing apparatus 1 may limit a positionalshift of the top plate 51 by, for example, fitting the protrusions 581into recesses that open radially inward from the outer edge of theopposing-member flange part 516. The mobility limiting part 58 may haveother various configurations. The same applies to a substrate processingapparatus 1 a, which will be described later.

The opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 moves the top plate 51 alongwith the opposing-member holder 53 in the up-down direction. FIG. 28 isa cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit 61 in which thetop plate 51 has been moved down from the first position illustrated inFIG. 26. In the following description, the position of the top plate 51in the up-down direction in FIG. 28 is referred to as a “secondposition.” That is, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 moves thetop plate 51 between the first position and the second position in theup-down direction. The second position is a position below the firstposition. In other words, the second position is a position at which thetop plate 51 is closer to the substrate holder 31 than at the firstposition.

With the top plate 51 located at the second position, the engagementparts 513 of the top plate 51 are respectively engaged with theengagement parts 313 of the substrate holder 31. The engagement parts513 are supported from below by the engagement parts 313. For example,the engagement parts 313 are pins that extend generally parallel to theup-down direction, and the upper ends of the engagement part 313 fitinto upwardly opening recesses that are formed in the lower ends of theengagement parts 513. The opposing-member flange part 516 of the topplate 51 is spaced above from the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53. Thus, thetop plate 51 located at the second position is held by the substrateholder 31 and spaced from the opposing-member holder 53 (i.e., not incontact with the opposing-member holder 53). When the substrate rotationmechanism 33 is driven with the top plate 51 located at the secondposition, the top plate 51 rotates along with the substrate holder 31.

The opposing-member holder 53 is horizontally movable in the state wherethe top plate 51 is located at the second position, i.e., where theopposing-member flange part 516 is spaced above from the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534. Theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally moves theopposing-member holder 53 that is horizontally movable. As illustratedin FIG. 25, the opposing-member holder 53 is moved in the state wherethe first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421 are located at their retracted positions. The opposing-memberholder 53 is horizontally moved by the opposing-member-holder movingmechanism 57 horizontally rotating the holder body 531.

The opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 moves the opposing-memberholder 53 between the position above the top plate 51, indicated by thesolid line in FIG. 24, and a position over the opposing-member storagepart 81 in a plan view, indicated by the dashed double-dotted line. Inthe following description, the position of the opposing-member holder 53in a plan view, indicated by the solid line in FIG. 24, is referred toas a “holding position.” Also, the position of the opposing-memberholder 53 in a plan view, indicated by the dashed double-dotted line inFIG. 24, is referred to as an “replacement position.”

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member holder 53,the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55, and theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 enable replacement of the topplate 51 with another top plate stored in the opposing-member storagepart 81 illustrated in FIG. 24. FIG. 29 is a side view of theopposing-member storage part 81. The opposing-member storage part 81 isa box-like member of a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape thatis able to store a plurality of top plates. Two side surfaces of theopposing-member storage part 81 are closed by side walls, and the othertwo side surfaces are open. The open side surfaces of theopposing-member storage part 81 allow comings and goings of top platesand the opposing-member holder 53.

The opposing-member storage part 81 includes a plurality of storageparts 82 that are stacked on top of one another in the up-downdirection. Each storage part 82 is able to store a single top plate. Inthe example in FIG. 29, three storage parts 82 are stacked on top of oneanother in the up-down direction. The topmost storage part 82 stores atop plate 51 a, and the bottommost storage part 82 stores a top plate 51b. When the top plate 51 illustrated in FIG. 28 is stored in theopposing-member storage part 81, the top plate 51 is stored in themiddle storage part 82. In the following description, when there is noparticular need to distinguish among the top plates 51, 51 a, and 51 b,the top plates 51, 51 a, and 51 b may be collectively referred to as“top plates,” or one or two of the top plates 51, 51 a, and 51 b may besimply referred to as (a) “top plate (s).”

A top plate is conveyed into or out of each storage part 82 through astorage opening 83 that is formed in one side surface of the storagepart 82. The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes anopposing-member cleaning mechanism 84 for cleaning a top plate stored ineach storage parts 82. The opposing-member cleaning mechanism 84includes a plurality of cleaning nozzles 841. The cleaning nozzles 841are provided on the upper and lower surfaces of each storage part 82 andsupply a cleaning liquid such as deionized water to top plates to cleanthe top plates. In each storage part 82, such a cleaned top plate mayalso be dried, for example. Each storage part 82 may, for example, beprovided with a shutter that closes the storage opening 83, and thestorage opening 83 may be closed during cleaning and drying of the topplate.

The top plates 51, 51 a, and 51 b are of different types. The type of atop plate refers to, for example, the shape, material, or structure ofthe top plate. In the present embodiment, the shape of the top plate 51a is different from the shape of the top plate 51, as will be describedlater. One example of the case where top plates differ in material is acase where the lower surface of one top plate is made of water repellentTeflon (registered trademark), and the lower surface of another topplate is made of a hydrophilic material. Using a top plate having ahydrophilic lower surface ensures a liquid-tight state between the topplate and the substrate 9 during the processing of the substrate 9. Oneexample of the case where top plates differ in structure is a case whereone top plate is made of Teflon, and another top plate has a structurein which a metal core is embedded in Teflon. Using a highly rigid topplate with a metal core embedded therein reduces the possibility ofdeformation of the top plate, for example when the substrate 9 is heatedduring processing. Note that, in the substrate processing apparatus 1,the opposing-member storage part 81 may store top plates of the sametype as the top plate 51 located above the substrate 9.

FIG. 30 is a plan view of part of the processing unit 61. Theopposing-member holder 53 is located at its retracted position, which islocated in between the holding position and the replacement positiondescribed above. The retracted position of the opposing-member holder 53is a position around the top plate 51, i.e., a position other thanpositions above the top plate 51, in a plan view. In the substrateprocessing apparatus 1, the first flange supporter 532 and the secondflange supporter 534 are horizontally moved by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 horizontally rotating theholder body 531 with the top plate 51 located at the second position(see FIG. 28).

As a result, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53 located at the holdingposition in FIG. 25 are spaced radially outward from the opposing-memberflange part 516 and the flange connector 515. At this time, the flangeconnector 515 is separated on one side in the direction along the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 from betweenthe first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534.Specifically, the flange connector 515 is separated on the left side inthe width direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of theholder body 531 in FIG. 25 when the tip end of the opposing-memberholder 53 is viewed from the base side. Then, the opposing-member holder53 is moved to the retracted position illustrated in FIG. 30.

Also, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-memberholder 53 is horizontally rotated by the opposing-member-holder movingmechanism 57, and accordingly, the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53 located atthe retracted position are moved to the holding position illustrated inFIG. 25 and disposed below the opposing-member flange part 516.

FIG. 31 is a cross-sectional view of part of the processing unit 61.FIG. 31 illustrates a state in which the top plate 51 located at thesecond position is held by the substrate holder 31. The opposing-memberholder 53 has been moved from the holding position to the retractedposition by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. Asillustrated in FIGS. 30 and 31, with the opposing-member holder 53retracted, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from itsretracted position and inserted through the upper opening 517 of theto-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 into the to-be-held part 512 bythe first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotationmechanism 432. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 is thus locatedinside the to-be-held part 512. In other words, the outer surface of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 radially opposes the inner surface ofthe to-be-held part 512. In the following description, the position ofthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 in FIG. 31 is referred to as a“supply position” (the same applies to the second processing liquidnozzle 421). In the example in FIG. 31, the end (i.e., lower end) of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supply position islocated above the lower edge of the opposing-member opening 514 of theopposing-member body 511. Alternatively, the end of the first processingliquid nozzle 411 may be located at the same position as the lower edgeof the opposing-member opening 514 in the up-down direction.

FIG. 32 is a block diagram of the gas-liquid supply part 4, related tothe supply of gases and processing liquids in the substrate processingapparatus 1. The gas-liquid supply part 4 includes the first processingliquid nozzle 411, the second processing liquid nozzle 421, a firstprocessing liquid supply part 413, a second processing liquid supplypart 418, a third processing liquid supply part 423 a, and a gas supplypart 45.

The first processing liquid supply part 413 and the second processingliquid supply part 418 are connected to the first processing liquidnozzle 411. The first processing liquid supply part 413 supplies a firstprocessing liquid through the first processing liquid nozzle 411 to theupper surface 91 of the substrate 9, with the first processing liquidnozzle 411 located above the substrate 9. The second processing liquidsupply part 418 supplies a second processing liquid through the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9,with the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located above the substrate9. The first processing liquid nozzle 411 selectively supplies one ofthe first processing liquid and the second processing liquid to thesubstrate 9. For example, the first processing liquid nozzle 411supplies the first processing liquid to the substrate 9 and thensupplies the second processing liquid to the substrate 9.

The third processing liquid supply part 423 a is connected to the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421. As will be described later, the thirdprocessing liquid supply part 423 a supplies a third processing liquidthrough the second processing liquid nozzle 421 to the upper surface 91of the substrate 9, with the second processing liquid nozzle 421 locatedabove the substrate 9. The gas supply part 45 is connected to the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421and supplies gases to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, various types of liquids areused as the first processing liquid, the second processing liquid, andthe third processing liquid. The first processing liquid may, forexample, be a chemical solution for use in chemical processing of thesubstrate 9 (e.g., a polymer removing liquid or an etchant such as anaqueous solution of hydrofluoric acid or tetramethylammonium hydroxide(TMAH)). The second processing liquid may, for example, be a cleaningliquid for use in cleaning the substrate 9, such as deionized water(DIW) or carbonated water. The third processing liquid may, for example,be isopropyl alcohol (IPA) that is supplied as a substitute for theliquid on the substrate 9. The gas supplied from the gas supply part 45may, for example, be an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas (N₂). The gassupply part 45 may also supply various gases other than inert gases.

When the first processing liquid is supplied from the first processingliquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG. 31, the first processing liquidfrom the first processing liquid supply part 413 is ejected from anejection port of the lower end surface of the first processing liquidnozzle 411 through the opposing-member opening 514 toward the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9. When the second processing liquid issupplied from the first processing liquid nozzle 411, the secondprocessing liquid from the second processing liquid supply part 418 isejected from another ejection port of the lower end surface of the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 through the opposing-member opening 514toward the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9. The inert gas suppliedfrom the gas supply part 45 is, for example, supplied from a jet openingof the lower end surface of the first processing liquid nozzle 411through the opposing-member opening 514 to a space 90 (hereinafter,referred to as a “processing space 90”) between the top plate 51 and thesubstrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first processing liquidnozzle 411 may protrude downward from the opposing-member opening 514 ofthe opposing-member body 511 as illustrated in FIG. 33. In other words,the end of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 may be located belowthe lower edge of the opposing-member opening 514. The inert gassupplied from the gas supply part 45 flows down in the first processingliquid nozzle 411 through the opposing-member opening 514 and issupplied from the lower end surface of the first processing liquidnozzle 411 to the processing space 90. The first processing liquidsupplied from the first processing liquid supply part 413 and the secondprocessing liquid supplied from the second processing liquid supply part418 flow down in the first processing liquid nozzle 411 through theopposing-member opening 514 and are ejected from the lower end surfaceof the first processing liquid nozzle 411 toward the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9.

In the following description, the supply of the first processing liquidor the second processing liquid through the opposing-member opening 514refers not only to a state where the first processing liquid or thesecond processing liquid that is ejected from the first processingliquid nozzle 411 above the opposing-member opening 514 passes throughthe opposing-member opening 514, but also to a state where the firstprocessing liquid or the second processing liquid is ejected through thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 that is inserted in theopposing-member opening 514 as illustrated in FIG. 33. The same appliesto the case of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 and the thirdprocessing liquid, which will be described later.

FIG. 34 is a plan view of part of the processing unit 61. In FIG. 34,the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from the supply positionabove the top plate 51 illustrated in FIG. 30 by the first nozzleelevating mechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 andlocated at its retracted position, which is located around and spacedfrom above the top plate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 34. The secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 is moved from its retracted position aroundthe top plate 51 in FIG. 30 by the second nozzle elevating mechanism 433and the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 and located at the supplyposition above the top plate 51 in FIG. 34. Our concepts regarding theretracted positions of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 include a space (i.e., evacuationspace) with a certain degree of spread that allows the first processingliquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 tooscillate at their retracted positions.

Similarly to the first processing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG.31, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 that is located at the abovesupply position is inserted into the to-be-held part 512 through theupper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51. Theend (i.e., lower end) of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 locatedat the supply position is located above the lower edge of theopposing-member opening 514 of the opposing-member body 511, similarlyto the first processing liquid nozzle 411 illustrated in FIG. 31.Alternatively, the end of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 may belocated at the same position as the lower edge of the opposing-memberopening 514 in the up-down direction.

The supply position of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 in FIGS. 31 and 34 is specifically aposition above the opposing-member opening 514 of the top plate 51. Theretracted positions of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 are positions around the substrateholder 31. The nozzle moving mechanism 43 individually moves the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421between the supply position and their respective retracted positions.

As illustrated in FIG. 34, the nozzle cleaning part 44 includes a firstcleaning part 441 and a second cleaning part 442. The first cleaningpart 441 is provided in the vicinity of the retracted position of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411. The first cleaning part 441 cleansthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the retractedposition. The first cleaning part 441 cleans the first processing liquidnozzle 411 by, for example, supplying a cleaning liquid such asdeionized water toward the first processing liquid nozzle 411. Thesecond cleaning part 442 is provided in the vicinity of the retractedposition of the second processing liquid nozzle 421. The second cleaningpart 442 cleans the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located at theretracted position in FIG. 25. The second cleaning part 442 cleans thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 by, for example, supplying acleaning liquid such as deionized water toward the second processingliquid nozzle 421. For example, the first cleaning part 441 and thesecond cleaning part 442 may also dry the cleaned first processingliquid nozzle 411 and the cleaned second processing liquid nozzle 421.When cleaning or drying the first processing liquid nozzle 411 and thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421, the first processing liquid nozzle411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 may oscillate at theirretracted positions (i.e., in the evacuation space).

Next, an exemplary procedure of processing performed on the substrate 9by the substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with referenceto FIGS. 35A, 35B, and 35C. First, with the top plate 51 located at thefirst position in FIG. 26, the substrate 9 is conveyed into the housing11 and held by the substrate holder 31 (step S51). At this time, the topplate 51 is held by the opposing-member holder 53, and the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421are located at their retracted positions.

Next, the controller 21 (see FIG. 24) controls the opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55 to move the opposing-member holder 53 down. Thus,the top plate 51 is moved down from the first position to the secondposition and held by the substrate holder 31 as illustrated in FIG. 28(step S52).

In step S52, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53 are spaced below from theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51. In this state, thecontroller 21 controls the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 tohorizontally rotate the opposing-member holder 53. Thus, theopposing-member holder 53 is retracted from the holding position abovethe top plate 51 and moved to the aforementioned retracted position(step S53).

Then, with the opposing-member holder 53 located at its retractedposition, the controller 21 controls the first nozzle elevatingmechanism 431 and the first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 to move thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 from its retracted position to thesupply position (step S54). The first processing liquid nozzle 411 isinserted through the upper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of thetop plate 51 and located inside the to-be-held part 512 as illustratedin FIGS. 30 and 31. When the first processing liquid nozzle 411 islocated at the supply position, the controller 21 controls the gassupply part 45 to supply an inert gas from the lower end surface of thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 to the processing space 90.

The controller 21 also controls the substrate rotation mechanism 33 tostart rotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and the topplate 51 (step S55). The inert gas continues to be supplied from thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 after step S55 onward. Note that therotation of the top plate 51 and other constituent elements may bestarted (step S55) before the first processing liquid nozzle 411 ismoved to the supply position (step S54). For example, step S55 may beperformed between steps S52 and S53. In this case, in step S53, theopposing-member holder 53 is moved away from the rotating top plate 51to its retracted position.

Then, with the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supplyposition, the first processing liquid supply part 413 supplies the firstprocessing liquid from the first processing liquid nozzle 411 throughthe opposing-member opening 514 of the top plate 51 located at thesecond position to the central part of the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 that is being rotated (step S56). The first processingliquid supplied from the first processing liquid nozzle 411 located atthe supply position to the central part of the substrate 9 is spreadradially outward from the central part of the substrate 9 over theentire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by the rotation of thesubstrate 9. The first processing liquid is dispersed radially outwardfrom the outer edge of the substrate 9 and received by the cup part 37.The first processing liquid is supplied for a predetermined period oftime, and the processing of the substrate 9 using the first processingliquid ends.

The first processing liquid may, for example, be a chemical solutionsuch as a polymer removing liquid or an etchant, and in step S56,chemical processing is performed on the substrate 9. Note that the firstprocessing liquid may be supplied (step S56) before the rotation of thesubstrate 9 is started (step S55). In this case, a puddle of the firstprocessing liquid is formed on the entire upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9, and puddling using the first processing liquid isperformed.

After the processing of the substrate 9 using the first processingliquid has ended, the second processing liquid is supplied from thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 through the opposing-member opening514 of the top plate 51 located at the second position to the centralpart of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 that is being rotated(step S57). The second processing liquid supplied to the central part ofthe substrate 9 is spread radially outward from the central part of thesubstrate 9 over the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by therotation of the substrate 9. The second processing liquid is dispersedradially outward from the outer edge of the substrate 9 and received bythe cup part 37. The second processing liquid is supplied for apredetermined period of time, and the processing of the substrate 9using the second processing liquid ends. The second processing liquidmay, for example, be a cleaning liquid such as deionized water orcarbonated water, and in step S57, cleaning processing is performed onthe substrate 9. In step S57, puddling using the second processingliquid may also be performed.

After the processing of the substrate 9 using the second processingliquid has ended, the supply of the second processing liquid from thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 is stopped. Then, the rotation of thesubstrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and the top plate 51 is stopped(step S58). In step S58, the supply of the inert gas from the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 is also stopped. After the rotation isstopped, approximately the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 iscovered with a liquid film of the second processing liquid. Then, thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved from the supply position toits retracted position by the first nozzle elevating mechanism 431 andthe first nozzle rotation mechanism 432 (step S59). The first processingliquid nozzle 411 located at its retracted position is cleaned by thefirst cleaning part 441.

Next, top plates are replaced. First, the controller 21 (see FIG. 24)determines the type of another top plate to be used next, according tothe properties of processing to be performed after the replacement ofthe top plates by the substrate processing apparatus 1 (step S60). Inthe present embodiment, processing to be performed after the replacementof the top plates is dry processing for drying the substrate 9, as willbe described later. Thus, the top plate 51 for chemical and cleaningprocessing is replaced with a top plate 51 a (see FIG. 29) for dryprocessing.

In the case of replacing the top plate 51 with the top plate 51 a, theopposing-member holder 53 located at its retracted position is moved tothe holding position by the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 andthe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 (step S61). Theopposing-member holder 53 is then moved up, and thereby the top plate 51is held by the opposing-member holder 53 and moved to the first positionabove the substrate 9 and the substrate holder 31 as illustrated in FIG.26 (step S62).

Then, the opposing-member holder 53 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 24 bythe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 and moved from theholding position to the replacement position. The top plate 51 isthereby conveyed away from above the substrate 9 and the substrateholder 31 through the storage opening 83 into the middle storage part 82of the opposing-member storage part 81 illustrated in FIG. 29 (stepS63). The tip end of the holder body 531 located at the replacementposition is located inside the storage part 82. In the substrateprocessing apparatus 1, the mobility limiting part 58 illustrated inFIG. 27 limits a positional shift (i.e., movement and rotation of thetop plate 51 relative to the opposing-member holder 53) of the top plate51 that is being conveyed by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism57 of the aforementioned opposing-member conveying mechanism.

When the top plate 51 has been conveyed into the storage part 82, theopposing-member holder 53 is moved down by the opposing-member elevatingmechanism 55, and thereby the top plate 51 is placed on the lowersurface of the storage part 82, and the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53 arespaced below from the opposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate51.

Thereafter, the opposing-member holder 53 is rotated counterclockwise inFIG. 24 and retracted from the middle storage part 82. At this time, theflange connector 515 of the top plate 51 is separated on the other sidein the direction along the first flange supporter 532 and the secondflange supporter 534 from between the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534. Specifically, the flange connector 515 isseparated on the right side in the width direction of the holder body531 in FIG. 24 when the tip end of the opposing-member holder 53 isviewed from the base side. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, theflange connector 515 is separated on either side in the direction alongthe first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 frombetween the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter534. In the opposing-member storage part 81, as illustrated in FIG. 29,the opposing-member cleaning mechanism 84 cleans the top plate 51 housedin the central storage part 82 (step S64).

Next, the opposing-member holder 53 is moved up and disposed beside thetopmost storage part 82 and enters the storage part 82 through thestorage opening 83 by clockwise rotation in FIG. 24. The first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are located below theopposing-member flange part 516 of the next top plate 51 a. Theopposing-member holder 53 is then moved up to bring the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 into contact with theopposing-member flange part 516, and thereby the top plate 51 a is heldby the opposing-member holder 53.

The opposing-member holder 53 is then rotated counterclockwise in FIG.24 by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 and moved from thereplacement position to the holding position. Along with this, the topplate 51 a stored in the opposing-member storage part 81 is conveyed outinto the first position above the substrate 9 and the substrate holder31 (step S65). In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the mobilitylimiting part 58 (see FIG. 27) limits a positional shift (i.e., movementand rotation of the top plate 51 a relative to the opposing-memberholder 53) of the top plate 51 a that is being conveyed by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. The opposing-member-holdermoving mechanism 57 conveys the top plate between the opposing-memberstorage part 81 and the position above the substrate 9 and the substrateholder 31. Note that the determination of the type of the next top platein step S60 described above only needs to be performed before the topplate 51 a is conveyed out (step S65).

The opposing-member holder 53 is then moved down, and the top plate 51 ais moved from the first position to the second position and held by thesubstrate holder 31 as illustrated in FIG. 36 (step S66).

The top plate 51 a has the same configuration as the configuration ofthe top plate 51 illustrated in FIGS. 26, 28, and 31, with the exceptionthat a downwardly protruding protrusion 521 is provided on the lowersurface of the opposing-member body 511. The protrusion 521 has agenerally annular plate-like shape centered on the central axis J1. Theouter diameter of the protrusion 521 is greater than the diameter of thesubstrate 9. The protrusion 521 opposes approximately the entire uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 in the up-down direction. The lowersurface of the protrusion 521 is spaced above from the upper surface 91of the substrate 9. Note that portions of the protrusion 521 that opposethe chucks 312 of the substrate holder 31 are upwardly recessed to avoidcontact with the chucks 312. The distance in the up-down directionbetween the lower surface of the protrusion 521 and the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 is smaller than the distance in the up-down directionbetween the lower surface of the opposing-member body 511 of the topplate 51 illustrated in FIG. 31 and the upper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9, throughout approximately the entirety of the upper surface91 of the substrate 9.

When the top plate 51 a is located at the second position, theopposing-member holder 53 is horizontally rotated and moved from theholding position above the top plate 51 a to its retracted position(step S67).

Then, the controller 21 controls the second nozzle elevating mechanism433 and the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434 to move the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 from its retracted position to the supplyposition (step S68). With the opposing-member holder 53 retracted, thesecond processing liquid nozzle 421 is inserted through the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 of the top plate 51 and disposedinside the to-be-held part 512 as illustrated in FIGS. 34 and 35. Whenthe second processing liquid nozzle 421 is disposed at the supplyposition, the inert gas from the gas supply part 45 is supplied from thelower end surface of the second processing liquid nozzle 421 to theprocessing space 90. Also, the substrate rotation mechanism 33 startsrotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and the top plate51 a (step S69). The inert gas continues to be supplied from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 after step S69 onward. During steps S58 toS69, approximately the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 iscovered with a liquid film of the second processing liquid. In otherwords, the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is protected by theliquid film. This liquid film prevents the upper surface of thesubstrate 9 from being exposed to outside air during the replacement ofthe top plates described above. When there is no particular need toprotect the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by such a liquid film,the supply of an inert gas from the first processing liquid nozzle 411is unnecessary.

Then, the controller 21 controls the second processing liquid supplypart 423 to, with the second processing liquid nozzle 421 located at thesupply position, supply the third processing liquid from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 through the opposing-member opening 514 ofthe top plate 51 located at the second position to the central part ofthe upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 that is being rotated (stepS70). The third processing liquid supplied from the second processingliquid nozzle 421 located at the supply position to the central part ofthe substrate 9 is spread radially outward from the central part of thesubstrate 9 over the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 by therotation of the substrate 9. Through this, the second processing liquid(e.g., cleaning liquid such as deionized water) on the upper surface 91of the substrate 9 is removed from above the substrate 9. The thirdprocessing liquid may, for example, be isopropyl alcohol, and in stepS70, processing for substituting another processing liquid for thecleaning liquid on the substrate 9 is performed. The third processingliquid is dispersed radially outward from the outer edge of thesubstrate 9 and received by the cup part 37. The third processing liquidis supplied for a predetermined period of time, and the processing ofthe substrate 9 using the third processing liquid ends.

When the processing of the substrate 9 using the third processing liquidhas ended, the supply of the third processing liquid from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 is stopped. Then, the second processingliquid nozzle 421 is moved from the supply position to its retractedposition by the second nozzle elevating mechanism 433 and the secondnozzle rotation mechanism 434 (step S71). The second processing liquidnozzle 421 located at the retracted position is cleaned by the secondcleaning part 442.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate 9 continues to berotated and processing for drying the substrate 9 is performed (stepS72). The rotation speed of the substrate 9 during dry processing isfaster than the rotation speed thereof during the processing of thesubstrate 9 using the third processing liquid in step S69.

Also, the opposing-member holder 53 is horizontally rotated and movedfrom the retracted position to the holding position by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 (step S73). At this time, thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 of theopposing-member holder 53 are spaced below from the opposing-memberflange part 516 of the top plate 51 a that is being located at thesecond position.

Then, the rotation of the substrate holder 31, the substrate 9, and thetop plate 51 a by the substrate rotation mechanism 33 is stopped (stepS74). In step S74, the supply of the inert gas from the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 is also stopped. Then, the opposing-memberholder 53 is moved up by the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55, andthereby the top plate 51 a is moved up from the second position to thefirst position (step S75). The top plate 51 a is spaced above from thesubstrate holder 31 and held by the opposing-member holder 53.

Then, the controller 21 (see FIG. 24) determines the type of another topplate to be used next, according to the properties of processing to beperformed on the next substrate 9 by the substrate processing apparatus1 (step S76). In the present embodiment, a top plate 51 for chemical andcleaning processing is determined as the next top plate. Then, theopposing-member holder 53 is moved from the holding position to thereplacement position. The top plate 51 a is thereby conveyed out fromabove the substrate 9 and the substrate holder 31 into the topmoststorage part 82 of the opposing-member storage part 81 in FIG. 29through the storage opening 83 (step S77). A positional shift of the topplate 51 a during conveyance is limited by the mobility limiting part 58(see FIG. 27). In the opposing-member storage part 81, theopposing-member cleaning mechanism 84 cleans the top plate 51 a storedin the topmost storage part 82 (step S78).

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the next top plate 51 stored inthe middle storage part 82 is conveyed out into the first position abovethe substrate 9 and the substrate holder 31 by the opposing-memberholder 53 a (step S79). A positional shift of the top plate 51 duringconveyance is limited by the mobility limiting part 58. In parallel withthe replacement of the top plates in steps S76 to S79, the substrate 9is conveyed out of the housing 11 (step S80). Preferably, step S80 maybe performed in parallel with step S77. Step S80 may also be performedafter steps S76 to S79, or may be performed before steps S76 to S79.

As described above, the processing of the substrate 9 using the firstprocessing liquid and the second processing liquid is performed when thetop plate 51 is located at the second position, and the processing ofthe substrate 9 using the third processing liquid is performed when thetop plate 51 a is located at the second position. Thus, the above secondposition may also be regarded as a “processing position.”

The substrate processing apparatus 1 sequentially performs theabove-described steps S51 to S80 on a plurality of substrates 9 toprocess the substrates 9. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, thecleaning of the top plate 51 a in step S78 is performed after completionof step S77 and before step S65 is performed on the next substrate 9(i.e., conveyance of the top plate 51 a out of the storage part). Also,the cleaning of the top plate 51 in step S64 is performed aftercompletion of step S63 and before step S79 (i.e., conveyance of the topplate 51 out of the storage part).

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 conveys a top plate from theposition above the substrate 9 and the substrate holder 31 into theopposing-member storage part 81 and conveys out another top plate storedin the opposing-member storage part 81 into the position above thesubstrate 9 and the substrate holder 31. Thus, the replacement and useof top plates are implemented with a single substrate processingapparatus 1.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the top plate and the other topplate (i.e., the top plates 51 and 51 a) are of different types. Thus,top plates that are respectively suited for a plurality of types ofprocessing are usable in a single substrate processing apparatus 1during the processing of the substrate 9.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 allows a desired gaseous atmosphereto be created in the processing space 90 between the top plate and thesubstrate 9 by supplying a gas to the processing space 90 and therebyallows the substrate 9 to be processed in that gaseous atmosphere,irrespective of the type of a top plate to be used. For example, when aninert gas is supplied to the processing space 90, the substrate 9 isprocessed in an inert gas atmosphere (i.e., a low oxygen atmosphere).

In the above-described example, the top plate 51 illustrated in FIG. 31is used during chemical and cleaning processing performed on thesubstrate 9, and the top plate 51 a illustrated in FIG. 36 is usedduring replacement and dry processing performed on the substrate 9. Inthe case of using the top plate 51, since the distance between the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 and the lower surface of theopposing-member body 511 is relatively large, the possibility ofadhesion of a chemical solution or a cleaning liquid to the lowersurface of the opposing-member body 511 is reduced. This consequentlyreduces the possibility that particles or the like generated from achemical solution or a cleaning liquid adhering to and dried on theopposing-member body 511 will adhere to the substrate 9.

In the case of using the top plate 51 a, the distance between the uppersurface 91 of the substrate 9 and the lower surface of the protrusion521 of the top plate 51 a is relatively small, and the time required todry the substrate 9 is shortened. This consequently reduces thepossibility that a watermark will be formed on the upper surface 91 ofthe substrate 9. When the substrate 9 has a pattern on the upper surface91, the amount of time that surface tension produced by the processingliquid remaining in the pattern will act on the pattern, and therefore,the possibility of pattern destruction or the like is reduced.

Note that the top plate 51 may be used during the replacement processingusing the third processing liquid in step S70. In this case, after thecleaning processing using the second processing liquid (step S57) hasended, the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is moved to its retractedposition without stopping the rotation of the top plate 51 and thesubstrate 9 (step S59). Then, the second processing liquid nozzle 421 ismoved to the supply position (step S68), and the third processing liquidis supplied from the second processing liquid nozzle 421 to thesubstrate 9 (step S70). Thereafter, steps S58, S60 to S67, S69, and S71to S80 are performed sequentially.

In the above-described example, the difference between the top plate 51and the top plate 51 a is mainly a difference in the distance to theupper surface 91 of the substrate 9 due to different shapes, but the topplate 51 and the top plate 51 a may have approximately the same shape.For example, the top plate 51 may have a hydrophilic lower surface, andthe top plate 51 a may have a water-repellent lower surface. Thisreduces the possibility that the processing liquid adhering to the lowersurface of the top plate 51 will drop on the substrate 9 duringprocessing using the first processing liquid and the second processingliquid. In this case, adhesion of the processing liquid to the lowersurface of the top plate 51 a during dry processing is also reduced.Thus, the processing liquid is quickly removable from the space betweenthe top plate 51 a and the substrate. This configuration shortens thetime required for dry processing.

For example, when a relatively high-temperature processing liquid (e.g.,SPM liquid) is used as the first processing liquid, the top plate 51 maybe a highly rigid top plate with a metal core embedded therein to reducethe possibility of thermal deformation. In this case, a lightweight topplate having no metal core is preferably used as the top plate 51 a.This configuration facilitates high-speed rotation during dryprocessing.

As described above, the determination of the type of the next top platein step S60 is conducted before step S65 in accordance with theproperties of processing to be performed by the substrate processingapparatus 1 after the top plate 51 a is conveyed out of theopposing-member storage part 81 in step S65 (i.e. in accordance with theprocessing to be performed in steps S69 to S74). Similarly, thedetermination of the type of the next top plate in step S76 is conductedbefore step S79 in accordance with the properties of processing to beperformed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 (i.e., processing tobe performed on the next substrate 9) after the top plate 51 is conveyedout of the opposing-member storage part 81 in step S79. Thus, top platesthat are respectively suited for a plurality of types of processing tobe performed on the substrate 9 are usable in a single substrateprocessing apparatus 1 during the processing of the substrate 9. Thedetermination of the type of the next top plate in steps S60 and S76 maybe conducted by, for example, reading out a predetermined type of topplates from recipes stored in the substrate processing apparatus 1.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes theopposing-member cleaning mechanism 84 for cleaning top plates stored inthe opposing-member storage part 81. This cleaning mechanism removesprocessing liquids or other substances adhering to the top plates andkeeps unused top plates clean. The cleaning of top plates may beperformed in parallel with the processing of the substrate 9 usinganother top plate in order to remove processing liquids or othersubstances adhering to the top plates without reducing the productivityof the substrate processing apparatus 1.

As described above, the opposing-member storage part 81 includes theplurality of storage parts 82 that are stacked on top of one another inthe up-down direction and each are able to store a top plate. Thisconfiguration reduces the footprint of the substrate processingapparatus 1 as compared with the case where the storage parts 82 arehorizontally arranged.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes the mobilitylimiting part 58 that limits a positional shift of a top plate that isbeing conveyed by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. Themobility limiting part prevents a top plate from moving or rotatingrelative to the opposing-member holder 53 during conveyance. Thisconfiguration consequently allows the top plate to be moved to the firstposition with high positional accuracy and allows the substrate holder31 to easily hold the top plate.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member holder 53includes the first flange supporter 532, the second flange supporter 534located on the opposite side to the first flange supporter 532 with theflange connector 515 located therebetween, and the holder body 531 onwhich the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534are mounted. The first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are each in contact with and support part of theopposing-member flange part 516 of a top plate from the underside whenthe top plate is located at the first position. With the top platelocated at the second position, the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 are horizontally moved and either spacedradially outward from the opposing-member flange part 516 or disposedbelow the opposing-member flange part 516.

Thus, irrespective of whether the top plate located at the secondposition is in a stationary state or being rotated, the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are easily movableaway from the opposing-member flange part 516 to move theopposing-member holder 53 to the retracted position with a simpleconfiguration. Also, irrespective of whether the top plate is in astationary state or being rotated, the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 are easily insertable into a positionbelow the opposing-member flange part 516 to move the opposing-memberholder 53 to the holding position with a simple configuration. That is,the substrate processing apparatus 1 not only allows a top plate to beheld with a simple configuration, but also allows the opposing-memberholder 53 to be movable between the holding position and the retractedposition (or the replacement position) with a simple configuration,irrespective of the state of the top plate. In this way, in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member holder 53 aremovable between the holding position and the retracted position (orreplacement position) during the rotation of the top plate 51 and otherconstituent elements. This configuration shortens the time required forthe processing of the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the flange connector 515 isseparable on either side in the direction along the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 from between the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534. Thus, theopposing-member holder 53 located at the holding position is retractablefrom the position above the top plate located above the substrate 9 byclockwise rotation in FIG. 24 toward the replacement position. Also, theopposing-member holder 53 located at the replacement position isretractable from the position above a top plate disposed in theopposing-member storage part 81 by counterclockwise rotation in FIG. 24toward the holding position. Consequently, the substrate processingapparatus 1 allows a top plate to be easily conveyed into theopposing-member storage part 81 and to be easily conveyed out of theopposing-member storage part 81 and disposed above the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing system 10, the substrate processingapparatus 1 including the opposing-member storage part 81 is housed inthe housing 11 of each of the processing units 61. This configurationenables the replacement of top plates during processing of a singlesubstrate 9, without opening the housing 11.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member storagepart 81 does not necessarily have to store a plurality of types of topplates to be used in processing a single substrate 9. For example, theopposing-member storage part 81 may store top plates that are suited todifferent processing from the above-described series of processing to beperformed on the substrate 9 (i.e., chemical processing, cleaningprocessing, replacement processing, and dry processing). In this case,when the type of a series of processing to be performed by the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 on a substrate 9 is changed, a top plate on thesubstrate holder 31 is replaced with a top plate that is suited to thenext processing. This allows the substrate processing apparatus 1 to beswitchable among configurations that are suited to a plurality of typesof a series of processing to be performed on the substrate 9 (i.e., aplurality of processing recipes). Consequently, the substrate processingapparatus 1 is usable for various types of processing to be performed onthe substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the top plate disposed abovethe substrate 9 and the top plates stored in the opposing-member storagepart 81 do not necessarily have to be of different types. For example,the opposing-member storage part 81 may store top plates 51 of the sametype as the top plate 51 disposed above the substrate 9. In this case,for example, when the cleaning of the top plate 51 disposed above thesubstrate 9 becomes necessary due to processing liquids or othersubstances adhering thereto (i.e., when the maintenance of the top plate51 becomes necessary), the top plate 51 is replaced with another topplate 51 stored in the opposing-member storage part 81. The top plates51 may be replaced, for example, during processing of a single substrate9, or may be replaced after a processed substrate 9 is conveyed out ofthe housing 11 and before the next substrate 9 is conveyed into thehousing 11.

FIG. 37 is a plan view illustrating the interior of a processing unit 61that includes a substrate processing apparatus 1 a according to a fifthembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 38 is an enlarged plan view ofpart of the processing unit 61 illustrated in FIG. 37. The substrateprocessing apparatus 1 a includes, instead of the opposing-member holder53 in FIG. 25, an opposing-member holder 53 a that differs from theopposing-member holder 53 in the orientations of the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534. The opposing-memberholder 53 a also includes a supporter moving mechanism 530. In thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 a, an opposing-member storage part 81 ais located at a different position from the position illustrated in FIG.24. The other configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 a isthe same as the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1illustrated in FIG. 25, and constituent elements that correspond tothose in FIG. 25 are given the same reference numerals.

As illustrated in FIG. 38, in the opposing-member holder 53 a, the firstflange supporter 532, the first connector 533, the second flangesupporter 534, and the second connector 535 are mounted on the holderbody 531 via the supporter moving mechanism 530. The first flangesupporter 532, the first connector 533, the second flange supporter 534,the second connector 535, and the supporter moving mechanism 530 areprovided approximately along the entire length of the holder body 531.The second flange supporter 534 is located on the opposite side to thefirst flange supporter 532 with the flange connector 515 of the topplate 51 located therebetween.

The first connector 533 and the second connector 535 are generally flatplate-like parts that extend downward from the supporter movingmechanism 530. The first connector 533 and the second connector 535 eachextend in a direction that is generally parallel to the longitudinaldirection of the holder body 531. The first flange supporter 532 is agenerally flat plate-like part that extends generally horizontally fromthe lower end of the first connector 533. The first flange supporter 532extends from the first connector 533 in a direction toward the secondflange supporter 534. The second flange supporter 534 is a generallyflat plate-like part that extends generally horizontally from the lowerend of the second connector 535. The second flange supporter 534 extendsfrom the second connector 535 in a direction toward the first flangesupporter 532.

The distance in the width direction of the holder body 531 between thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 issmaller than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flange part 516of the top plate 51 and greater than the outer diameter of the flangeconnector 515. The distance in the width direction of the holder body531 between the first connector 533 and the second connector 535 isgreater than the outer diameter of the opposing-member flange part 516.

The supporter moving mechanism 530 moves the first connector 533, thefirst flange supporter 532, the second connector 535, and the secondflange supporter 534 generally horizontally in a direction that isgenerally parallel to the longitudinal direction of the holder body 531.That is, in the opposing-member holder 53 a, the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534 are movable relative to theholder body 531 by the supporter moving mechanism 530. The supportermoving mechanism 530 moves the first flange supporter 532 and the secondflange supporter 534 relative to the holder body 531 in aforward-backward direction.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, with the holder body 531located at the holding position, the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 are in contact with part of theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51 from the undersideand supports the top plate 51 when the top plate 51 is located at thefirst position. In the example in FIG. 38, the opposing-member flangepart 516 is in contact with end portions of the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534 (i.e., the end portion of theholder body 531 on the tip end side). Also, with the holder body 531located at the holding position and the top plate 51 located at thesecond position, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are moved toward the base of the holder body 531 by thesupporter moving mechanism 530, and the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 are spaced radially outward from theopposing-member flange part 516 as illustrated in FIG. 39. In thisstate, the opposing-member holder 53 a is horizontally rotated and movedbetween the holding position and the retracted position by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57.

Also, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, with the holder body531 located at the holding position and the top plate 51 located at thesecond position, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are moved toward the tip end of the holder body 531 by thesupporter moving mechanism 530 and disposed below the opposing-memberflange part 516 as illustrated in FIG. 38.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, irrespective of whether thetop plate 51 located at the second position is in a stationary state orbeing rotated, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are movable away from the opposing-member flange part 516to move the opposing-member holder 53 a to the retracted position, as inthe substrate processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 25. Also,irrespective of whether the top plate 51 is in a stationary state orbeing rotated, the opposing-member holder 53 a is movable from theretracted position to the holding position to dispose the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 below theopposing-member flange part 516. That is, the substrate processingapparatus 1 a allows the top plate 51 to be held with a simpleconfiguration and allows the opposing-member holder 53 a to move betweenthe holding position and the retracted position (or the replacementposition) with a simple configuration, irrespective of the state of thetop plate 51. In this way, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 a,the opposing-member holder 53 a is movable between the holding positionand the retracted position (or the replacement position) during therotation of the top plate 51 and other constituent elements, as in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIG. 25. Thisconfiguration shortens the time required for the processing of thesubstrate 9.

The procedure of processing performed on the substrate 9 by thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 a is approximately the same as theprocedure of processing performed on the substrate 9 by the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 35A to 35C. The operationsof each constituent element of the substrate processing apparatus 1 aare controlled by the controller 21 as in the substrate processingapparatus 1. When the top plate 51 is conveyed into the opposing-memberstorage part 81 a in step S63, the opposing-member holder 53 a thatholds the top plate 51 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 37 by theopposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 and moved from the holdingposition indicated by the solid line to the replacement positionindicated by the dashed double-dotted line. For easy understanding ofthe drawing, other top plates stored in the opposing-member storage part81 a are not shown in FIG. 37 (the same applies to FIG. 40).

The tip end of the holder body 531 located at the replacement positionis located outside the opposing-member storage part 81 a and opposes theside surface of the opposing-member storage part 81 a. Like theopposing-member storage part 81 illustrated in FIG. 29, theopposing-member storage part 81 a is a box-like member of a generallyrectangular parallelepiped that is able to store a plurality of topplates. Three side surfaces of the opposing-member storage part 81 a areclosed by side walls, and one side surface thereof that opposes theopposing-member holder 53 a located at the replacement position is open.The open side surface has storage openings 83 for a plurality of storageparts 82.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534 of the opposing-member holder 53a located at the replacement position are moved in a forward directiontoward the tip end of the holder body 531 by the supporter movingmechanism 530 as illustrated in FIG. 40. This movement causes the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 to protrude inthe longitudinal direction from the tip end of the holder body 531 asindicated by the dashed double-dotted line in FIG. 40, and therebycauses the top plate 51 held by the first flange supporter 532 and thesecond flange supporter 534 to be conveyed into a storage part 82 of theopposing-member storage part 81 a.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, the mobility limiting part 58(see FIG. 27) limits a positional shift of the top plate 51 (i.e.,movement and rotation of the top plate 51 relative to the first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534) during conveyance bythe opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57 and the supporter movingmechanism 530, as in the above-described substrate processing apparatus1. After the top plate 51 is conveyed into the storage part 82, theopposing-member holder 53 a is moved down by the opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55. Thus, the top plate 51 is placed on the lowersurface of the storage part 82, and the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 are spaced below from theopposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51. The first flangesupporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 are then moved in abackward direction toward the base of the holder body 531 and retractedfrom the opposing-member storage part 81 a by the supporter movingmechanism 531.

In the case of conveying the top plate 51 a out of the opposing-memberstorage part 81 a in step S65, the opposing-member elevating mechanism55 is driven to cause the opposing-member holder 53 a to move to aposition that opposes the storage part 82 where the top plate 51 a isstored. Then, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are moved in a forward direction toward the tip end of theholder body 531 by the supporter moving mechanism 530. As a result, thefirst flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 protrudein the longitudinal direction from the tip end of the holder body 531,and the ends of the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 are disposed below the opposing-member flange part 516 ofthe top plate 51 a.

Then, the opposing-member holder 53 a is moved up to bring the firstflange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 into contactwith the opposing-member flange part 516, and the top plate 51 a is heldby the opposing-member holder 53 a. The first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 are then moved in a backward directiontoward the base of the holder body 531 and retracted from theopposing-member storage part 81 a by the supporter moving mechanism 530.Thus, the top plate 51 a is conveyed out of the opposing-member storagepart 81 a. The opposing-member holder 53 a is thereafter horizontallyrotated and moved from the replacement position to the holding positionby the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. As a result, the topplate 51 a conveyed out of the opposing-member storage part 81 a isconveyed to the first position above the substrate 9 and the substrateholder 31.

The operations of conveying the top plate 51 a into the opposing-memberstorage part 81 a in step S77 and conveying the top plate 51 out of theopposing-member storage part 81 a in step S79, performed by thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 a, are respectively the same as theoperations performed in steps S63 and S65 described above.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a, the above-describedopposing-member conveying mechanism for conveying top plates furtherincludes a supporter moving mechanism 530 in addition to theopposing-member holder 53, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55,and the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57. The supporter movingmechanism 530 is a forward-backward movement mechanism for moving a topplate forward and backward (i.e., move a top plate in a forward-backwarddirection) relative to the opposing-member storage part 81 a. Thismechanism facilitates the conveyance of a top plate into and out of theopposing-member storage part 81 a. This mechanism also eliminates theneed to locate the opposing-member storage part 81 a on the rotationpath of a top plate by the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism 57and thereby improves the degree of freedom in the location of theopposing-member storage part 81 a.

FIG. 41 is a plan view illustrating the interior of a substrateprocessing system 10 a according to a sixth embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 42 is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processingsystem 10 a taken along XLII-XLII in FIG. 41. FIG. 42 also illustrates aconfiguration on the back of the cross-section. In the substrateprocessing system 10 a, the opposing-member storage part 81 (see FIG.24) is omitted from each processing unit 61, and a sharedopposing-member storage part 81 b is disposed in the shared space 66 ofthe processor 6. The main conveying robot 63 located in the shared space66 further includes, in addition to the substrate conveying hand 64, anopposing-member conveying hand 67 that is able to hold a top plate in ahorizontal position. The other configuration of the substrate processingsystem 10 a is the same as the configuration of the substrate processingsystem 10 illustrated in FIGS. 22 and 23, and constituent elements thatcorrespond to those in FIGS. 22 and 23 are given the same referencenumerals in the following description.

The opposing-member conveying hand 67, which is an opposing-memberholder, is moved along with the substrate conveying hand 64 by the handdrive mechanism 65, which is an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism.The opposing-member conveying hand 67 is located, for example, below thesubstrate conveying hand 64. For example, the opposing-member conveyinghand 67 is horizontally moved forward and backward, moved in the up-downdirection, and rotated about a rotation axis parallel to the up-downdirection by the hand drive mechanism 65. Note that the main conveyingrobot 63 may move the opposing-member conveying hand 67 independently ofthe substrate conveying hand 64.

Like the opposing-member storage part 81 illustrated in FIG. 29, theopposing-member storage part 81 b is a box-like member of a generallyrectangular parallelepiped that is able to store a plurality of topplates. The opposing-member storage part 81 b includes, for example, aplurality of storage parts 82 (see FIG. 29) that are stacked on top ofone another in the up-down direction. Each of the storage parts 82 isable to store a single top plate. The opposing-member storage part 81 bis located, for example, below the intermediate unit 62. Alternatively,the opposing-member storage part 81 b may be located above theintermediate unit 62, or may be located at any other position in theshared space 66.

The opposing-member conveying hand 67 of the main conveying robot 63 isdriven to convey a top plate out of a processing unit 61 and into theopposing-member storage part 81 b. To be specific, the hand drivemechanism 65 moves the opposing-member conveying hand 67 to oppose theconveyance port of a processing unit 61 and then moves theopposing-member conveying hand 67 in a forward direction to insert theopposing-member conveying hand 67 into the processing unit 61. Asillustrated in FIG. 43, the opposing-member conveying hand 67 isdisposed below the opposing-member flange part 516 of the top plate 51that is held by the substrate holder 31.

The opposing-member conveying hand 67 is then moved up and brought intocontact with the lower surface of the opposing-member flange part 516,and thereby the top plate 51 is held by the opposing-member conveyinghand 67. The top plate 51 is spaced above from the substrate holder 31.Next, the opposing-member conveying hand 67 is moved backward andretracted from the processing unit 61. Thus, the top plate 51 isconveyed out of the processing unit 61. The opposing-member conveyinghand 67 and the top plate 51 are moved to a position that opposes theopposing-member storage part 81 b. The opposing-member conveying hand 67is then moved in a forward direction, and the top plate 51 held by theopposing-member conveying hand 67 is conveyed into the opposing-memberstorage part 81 b.

The opposing-member conveying hand 6 of the main conveying robot 63 isalso driven to convey a top plate out of the opposing-member storagepart 81 b and into a processing unit 61. To be specific, the hand drivemechanism 65 causes the opposing-member conveying hand 67 to oppose theopposing-member storage part 81 b and then moves the opposing-memberconveying hand 67 in a forward direction to insert the opposing-memberconveying hand 67 into the opposing-member storage part 81 b. After thetop plate is held by the opposing-member conveying hand 67, theopposing-member conveying hand 67 is moved in a backward direction toconvey the top plate out of the opposing-member storage part 81 b. Theopposing-member conveying hand 67 is then moved to oppose the conveyanceport of the processing unit 61 and moved in a forward direction to beinserted into the processing unit 61. Thus, the top plate is conveyedinto the processing unit 61. Then, the top plate is transferred from theopposing-member conveying hand 67 to the substrate holder 31, and theopposing-member conveying hand 67 is moved in a backward direction andretracted from the processing unit 61.

In the substrate processing system 10 a, the above-describedopposing-member conveying mechanism for conveying top plates furtherincludes the main conveying robot 63 in addition to the constituentelements including the opposing-member holder 53, the opposing-memberelevating mechanism 55, and the opposing-member-holder moving mechanism57. Like the opposing-member holder 53 illustrated in FIG. 27, theopposing-member conveying hand 67 includes a mobility limiting part thatlimits a positional shift of a top plate that is being conveyed. Theconfiguration of the mobility limiting part is, for example, the same asthe configuration of the mobility limiting part 58 illustrated in FIG.27. The mobility limiting part prevents a top plate from moving androtating relative to the opposing-member conveying hand 67 duringconveyance. This consequently allows the top plate to accurately moveonto the substrate holder 31 and allows the substrate holder 31 toeasily hold the top plate.

As described above, the hand drive mechanism 65 of the main conveyingrobot 63 includes a forward-backward movement mechanism for moving a topplate forward and backward relative to the opposing-member storage part81 b. This mechanism facilitates the conveyance of a top plate into andout of the opposing-member storage part 81 b.

In the substrate processing system 10 a, the main conveying robot 63 andthe opposing-member storage part 81 b are shared among the processingunits 61. Focusing now on two processing units 61, the substrateprocessing system 10 a includes a substrate processing apparatus 1, ahousing 11 that is an apparatus housing chamber, another substrateprocessing apparatus 1, and another housing 11 that is another apparatushousing chamber. The other substrate processing apparatus 1 shares theopposing-member storage part 81 b and the main conveying robot 63, whichis part of the opposing-member conveying mechanism, with the substrateprocessing apparatus 1 and has the same configuration as theconfiguration of the substrate processing apparatus 1. The constituentelements of the substrate processing apparatus 1, excluding theopposing-member storage part 81 b and the main conveying robot 63, arehoused in the housing 11. Similarly, the constituent elements of theother substrate processing apparatus 1, excluding the opposing-memberstorage part 81 b and the main conveying robot 63, are housed in theother housing 11.

Sharing the constituent elements simplifies the configuration of thesubstrate processing system 10 a and reduces the size of the housing 11of each processing unit 61. Consequently, the size of the substrateprocessing system 10 a is reduced.

In the substrate processing system 10 a, the opposing-member storagepart 81 b stores, for example, top plates 51 of the same type as the topplate 51 used in a processing unit 61. In this case, for example, whencleaning becomes necessary due to processing liquids or other substancesadhering to the top plate 51 that is being used in a processing unit 61(i.e., when the maintenance of the top plate 51 becomes necessary), thistop plate 51 is replaced with another top plate 51 stored in theopposing-member storage part 81 b. This configuration enablesreplacement of the top plate 51 without reducing the productivity of thesubstrate processing system 10 a.

The replacement of top plates may be carried out, for example, after theprocessed substrate 9 is conveyed out of the processing unit 61 andbefore the next substrate 9 is conveyed into the processing unit 61.Alternatively, the replacement of top plates may be carried out inparallel with the conveyance of the substrate 9. That is, the top platemay be conveyed out of the processing unit 61 at the same time when aprocessed substrate 9 is conveyed out of the processing unit 61, and thenext top plate 51 may be conveyed into the processing unit 61 at thesame when an unprocessed substrate 9 is conveyed into the processingunit 61.

In the substrate processing system 10 a, the opposing-member storagepart 81 b may store top plates of different types from the type of thetop plate 51 that is being used in a processing unit 61. For example,the opposing-member storage part 81 b may store a plurality of types oftop plates that are respectively suited to a plurality of types of aseries of processing (i.e., a plurality of processing recipes) to beperformed on the substrate 9. In this case, when the type of a series ofprocessing to be performed on the substrate 9 in a processing unit 61 ischanged, the top plate 51 in the processing unit 61 is replaced with atop plate that is suited to the next processing. Thus, in the substrateprocessing system 10 a, each processing unit 61 is switchable amongconfigurations that are suited to a plurality of types of a series ofprocessing to be performed on the substrate 9. Consequently, eachprocessing unit 61 is usable for various types of processing to beperformed on the substrate 9.

The substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b and the substrateprocessing systems 10 and 10 a described above may be modified invarious ways.

The substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 1 a may use a configurationdifferent from processing liquid nozzles (i.e., the first processingliquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421) to supplya gas to the gap 518 between a processing liquid nozzle and theto-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, the gas supplied from the gassupply part 45 to the gap 518 does not necessarily have to pass throughboth of the processing nozzle located at the supply position and theopposing-member holder 53 b. For example, the gas may be supplied fromthe side surface of a processing liquid nozzle (e.g., the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 a and the second processing liquid nozzle421 a) to the gap 518, and the supply of a gas from the opposing-memberholder 53 b may be omitted. This configuration simplifies theconfiguration of the opposing-member holder 53 b. In this case, theopposing-member holder 53 b may, for example, be a generally solidmember, and the through hole 537 may be a columnar hole that extendsfrom the upper surface of the opposing-member holder 53 b to lowersurface thereof. Alternatively, the gas may be supplied from theopposing-member holder 53 b through the upper opening 517 of theto-be-held part 512 to the gap 518, and the supply of the gas from theprocessing liquid nozzle to the gap 518 may be omitted. In this case,the configuration of the processing liquid nozzles is simplified. Asanother alternative, a different configuration from the configurationusing the processing liquid nozzles and the opposing-member holder 53 bmay be used to supply a gas to the gap 518.

Note that a gas does not necessarily have to be supplied to the gap 518.The supply position of the processing liquid nozzles is not limited tothe position inside the to-be-held part 512 and may be any positionabove the opposing-member opening 514. For example, the processingliquid nozzles may be located above the upper opening 517 of theto-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing-member holder 53does not necessarily have to be located at the retracted position whenthe first processing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquidnozzle 421 are inserted into the to-be-held part 512. Also, the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421do not necessarily have to be located at their retracted positions whenthe opposing-member holder 53 is moved from the retracted position tothe holding position. For example, a configuration as illustrated inFIG. 21 is conceivable in which a cut-out part 531 a that is larger thanthe nozzle flange part 414 of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 isformed in the side surface of the holder body 531, and the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 located at the supply position is housed inthe cut-out part 531 a of the opposing-member holder 53 located at theholding position in a plan view. In this case, the processing liquidnozzle (i.e., the first processing liquid nozzle 411 or the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421) may be inserted into the to-be-held part512 with the opposing-member holder 53 located at the holding position.Alternatively, the opposing-member holder 53 may be moved from theretracted position to the holding position with the processing liquidnozzle inserted in the to-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first flange supporter 532and the second flange supporter 534 may be connected in part to eachother at, for example, their right ends in FIG. 5. Similarly, in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 a, the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 may be connected in part to each otherat, for example, their ends on the base side of the holder body 531.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b, a plurality oftypes of processing liquids may be sequentially supplied from the firstprocessing liquid nozzle 411 or 411 a onto the substrate 9. The sameapplies to the second processing liquid nozzle 421 or 421 a. In additionto the first processing liquid nozzle 411 or 411 a and the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421 or 421 a, other processing liquid nozzlesmay be provided. In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the secondprocessing liquid nozzle 421, the second nozzle elevating mechanism 433,the second nozzle rotation mechanism 434, and the second cleaning part442 may be omitted. The same applies to the substrate processingapparatuses 1 a and 1 b.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 b, a single processing liquidnozzle may be fixed to the opposing-member holder 53 b, and one or moretypes of processing liquids may be supplied from the fixed processingliquid nozzle to the substrate 9. Fixing a processing liquid nozzle tothe opposing-member holder 53 b in this way simplifies the configurationof the opposing-member holder 53 b and the processing liquid nozzle. Inthis case, for example, a configuration is conceivable in which theprocessing liquid nozzle protrudes downward from the opposing-memberholder 53 b and is inserted through the upper opening 517 of theto-be-held part 512 of the top plate 5, and the gas from the gas supplypart 45 is supplied through the opposing-member holder 53 b and theupper opening 517 of the to-be-held part 512 into the to-be-held part512. This configuration simplifies the configuration of the processingliquid nozzle and reduces the entry of outside air into the processingspace 90.

The opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 does not necessarily have tomove the top plate 51 in the up-down direction, and it is sufficient forthe top plate 51 and the substrate holder 31 to move relative to eachother. For example, the opposing-member elevating mechanism 55 may movethe substrate holder 31 in the up-down direction without moving the topplate 51 in order to achieve movement of the top plate 51 between thefirst position and the second position in the up-down direction relativeto the substrate holder 31. In this case, the position of the top plate51 that is held by the opposing-member holder 53 and spaced above fromthe substrate holder 31 is the first position, and the position of thetop plate 51 that is held by the substrate holder 31 is the secondposition.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b, the cup part 37may include a plurality of cups that are arranged concentrically. Inthis case, a cup that receives a processing liquid from the substrate 9may preferably be changed when the type of the processing liquidsupplied onto the substrate 9 is changed (e.g., when the processingliquid is changed from a chemical solution to a cleaning liquid). Thisconfiguration facilitates separation, collection, and discarding of aplurality of processing liquids.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b, the substrateholder 31 may have a lower nozzle in the central part to supply aprocessing liquid to the lower surface of the substrate 9.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b, the use of thetop plate 51 enables execution of various types of processing that aredesirably performed in a low oxygen atmosphere. The gas supplied to theprocessing space 90 is not limited to a nitrogen gas, and may be otherinert gases such as an argon gas. The gas supplied to the processingspace 90 may be a gas that creates a desired gaseous atmosphere abovethe substrate 9, e.g., a mixed gas having a controlled gas compositionratio (i.e., mixture of a plurality of types of gases). The gas suppliedto the processing space 90 may, for example, be dried air with lowhumidity, depending on the content of processing. In the substrateprocessing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b, the supply of a gas to theprocessing space 90 is not an absolute necessity.

The substrate processing apparatuses 1, 1 a, and 1 b may process varioustypes of substrates other than semiconductor substrates.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1 of the substrate processingsystems 10 and 10 a, the opposing-member holder 53 does not necessarilyhave to be located at the retracted position when the first processingliquid nozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 areinserted into the to-be-held part 512. Also, the first processing liquidnozzle 411 and the second processing liquid nozzle 421 do notnecessarily have to be located at their retracted positions when theopposing-member holder 53 is moved from the retracted position to theholding position. For example, a configuration as illustrated in FIG. 44is conceivable in which the cut-out part 531 a larger than the nozzleflange part 414 of the first processing liquid nozzle 411 is formed inthe side surface of the holder body 531, and the first processing liquidnozzle 411 located at the supply position is housed in the cut-out part531 a of the opposing-member holder 53 located at the holding positionin a plan view. In this case, a processing liquid nozzle (i.e., thefirst processing liquid nozzle 411 or the second processing liquidnozzle 421) may be inserted into the to-be-held part 512 with theopposing-member holder 53 located at the holding position. Also, theopposing-member holder 53 may be moved from the retracted position tothe holding position with the processing liquid nozzle inserted in theto-be-held part 512. Irrespective of whether the top plate 51 is in astationary state or being rotated, the flange connector 515 is separableon one side in the direction along the first flange supporter 532 andthe second flange supporter 534 from between the first flange supporter532 and the second flange supporter 534.

The substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 1 a of the substrateprocessing systems 10 and 10 a may have a configuration in which athrough hole is formed in the holder body 531 of the opposing-memberholder 53 or 53 a, and with the opposing-member holder 53 or 53 alocated at the holding position, the first processing liquid nozzle 411or the second processing liquid nozzle 421 is inserted through thatthrough hole into the to-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 1 a of the substrateprocessing systems 10 and 10 a, the supply position of the processingliquid nozzles is not limited to a position inside the to-be-held part 5and may be any position above the opposing-member opening 514. Forexample, the processing liquid nozzles may be located above the upperopening 517 of the to-be-held part 512.

In the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the substrate processingsystem 10 a, the first flange supporter 532 and the second flangesupporter 534 may be connected in part to each other at, for example,their right ends in FIG. 34. In the substrate processing apparatus 1 a,the first flange supporter 532 and the second flange supporter 534 maybe connected in part to each other at, for example, their ends on thebase side of the holder body 531.

The configurations of the above-described preferred embodiments andvariations may be appropriately combined as long as there are no mutualinconsistencies.

While the invention has been shown and described in detail, theforegoing description is in all aspects illustrative and notrestrictive. It is therefore to be understood that numerousmodifications and variations can be devised without departing from thescope of the invention. This application claims priority benefit under35 U.S.C. Section 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-25718filed in the Japan Patent Office on Feb. 12, 2015, Japanese PatentApplication No. 2015-25719 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Feb. 12,2015, Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-25720 filed in the JapanPatent Office on Feb. 12, 2015, and Japanese Patent Application No.2015-37749 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Feb. 27, 2015, the entiredisclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1, 1 a, 1 b Substrate processing apparatus    -   9 Substrate    -   10, 10 a Substrate processing system    -   11 Housing    -   21 Control part    -   31 Substrate holder    -   33 Substrate rotation mechanism    -   43 Nozzle moving mechanism    -   44 Nozzle cleaning part    -   45 Gas supply part    -   51, 51 a, 51 b Top plate    -   53, 53 a, 53 b Opposing-member holder    -   54, 54 a Labyrinth    -   55 Opposing-member elevating mechanism    -   57 Opposing-member-holder moving mechanism    -   58 Mobility limiting part    -   65 Hand drive mechanism    -   66 Shared space    -   67 Opposing-member conveying hand    -   81, 81 a, 81 b Opposing-member storage part    -   82 Storage part    -   84 Opposing-member cleaning mechanism    -   90 Processing space    -   91 Upper surface (of substrate)    -   411, 411 a First processing liquid nozzle    -   413 First processing liquid supply part    -   414 Nozzle flange part    -   415 Nozzle body    -   421, 421 a Second processing liquid nozzle    -   418, 423 Second processing liquid supply part    -   423 a Third processing liquid supply part    -   511 Opposing-member body    -   512 To-be-held part    -   514 Opposing-member opening    -   515 Flange connector    -   516 Opposing-member flange part    -   517 Upper opening (of to-be-held part)    -   518 Gap    -   530 Supporter moving mechanism    -   531 Holder body    -   532 First flange supporter    -   534 Second flange supporter    -   537 Through hole    -   J1 Central axis    -   S11 to S26, S31 to S44, S51 to S80 Step

1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,comprising: a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a horizontalposition; an opposing member that opposes an upper surface of saidsubstrate and has an opposing-member opening in a central part; anopposing-member conveying mechanism for holding said opposing member andmoving said opposing member relative to said substrate holder between afirst position and a second position in an up-down direction; a firstprocessing liquid supply part for supplying a first processing liquidthrough a first processing liquid nozzle to said upper surface of saidsubstrate; a second processing liquid supply part for supplying a secondprocessing liquid through a second processing liquid nozzle to saidupper surface of said substrate; a nozzle moving mechanism forindividually moving said first processing liquid nozzle and said secondprocessing liquid nozzle, specifically, moving said first processingliquid nozzle between a supply position above said opposing-memberopening and a first retracted position around said substrate holder andmoving said second processing liquid nozzle between said supply positionand a second retracted position around said substrate holder; asubstrate rotation mechanism for rotating said substrate along with saidsubstrate holder about a central axis pointing in said up-downdirection; a controller for controlling said first processing liquidsupply part, said second processing liquid supply part, and said nozzlemoving mechanism; and a gas supply part for supplying a gas to a spacebetween said opposing member and said substrate, wherein said opposingmember that is located at said first position is held by saidopposing-member conveying mechanism and spaced above from said substrateholder, and said opposing member that is located at said second positionis held by said substrate holder and rotated along with said substrateholder by said substrate rotation mechanism, and under the control ofsaid controller, said first processing liquid is supplied through saidopposing-member opening to said substrate with said first processingliquid nozzle being located at said supply position, said firstprocessing liquid nozzle is moved from said supply position to saidfirst retracted position, said second processing liquid nozzle is movedfrom said second retracted position to said supply position, and saidsecond processing liquid is supplied through said opposing-memberopening to said substrate.
 2. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein said opposing member includes: anopposing-member body that opposes said upper surface of said substrateand has said opposing-member opening in said central part; and a tubularto-be-held part that protrudes upward from the periphery of saidopposing-member opening of said opposing-member body and is held by saidopposing-member conveying mechanism, and said first processing liquidnozzle and said second processing liquid nozzle, when located at saidsupply position, are inserted through an upper opening of saidto-be-held part.
 3. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 2, wherein an end of said first processing liquid nozzle that islocated at said supply position and an end of said second processingliquid nozzle that is located at said supply position are located abovea lower edge of said opposing-member opening or at the same position assaid lower edge in said up-down direction.
 4. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 1, wherein said first processing liquidnozzle and said second processing liquid nozzle, when located at saidsupply position, are inserted into a through hole of saidopposing-member conveying mechanism above said opposing-member opening.5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein thegas from said gas supply part is supplied from said opposing-memberopening via said opposing-member conveying mechanism.
 6. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said opposing-memberconveying mechanism includes: an opposing-member holder for holding saidopposing member; and an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism for,with said opposing member being located at said second position,retracting said opposing-member holder from above said opposing member,and with said opposing-member holder being retracted, either said firstprocessing liquid nozzle or said second processing liquid nozzle islocated at said supply position, and the gas from said gas supply partis supplied from said first processing liquid nozzle or said secondprocessing liquid nozzle that is located at said supply position.
 7. Thesubstrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:a nozzle cleaning part for cleaning said first processing liquid nozzlethat is located at said first retracted position.
 8. A substrateprocessing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: a substrateholder for holding a substrate in a horizontal position; an opposingmember that opposes an upper surface of said substrate, has anopposing-member opening in a central part, and has a tubular to-be-heldpart that protrudes upward from the periphery of said opposing-memberopening; an opposing-member conveying mechanism for holding saidto-be-held part of said opposing member and moving said opposing memberrelative to said substrate holder between a first position and a secondposition in an up-down direction; a processing liquid nozzle located onthe inner side of said to-be-held part and for ejecting a processingliquid through said opposing-member opening toward said upper surface ofsaid substrate; a substrate rotation mechanism for rotating saidsubstrate along with said substrate holder about a central axis pointingin said up-down direction; and a gas supply part for supplying a gas toa space between said opposing member and said substrate, said opposingmember that is located at said first position is held by saidopposing-member conveying mechanism and spaced above from said substrateholder, and said opposing member that is located at said second positionis held by said substrate holder and rotated along with said substrateholder by said substrate rotation mechanism, and said gas supply partsupplies a gas to a gap between an inner surface of said to-be-held partof said opposing member and an outer surface of said processing liquidnozzle.
 9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,wherein said processing liquid nozzle protrudes downward from saidopposing-member conveying mechanism and is inserted through an upperopening of said to-be-held part, and the gas from said gas supply partis supplied from said upper opening of said to-be-held part into saidto-be-held part via said opposing-member conveying mechanism.
 10. Thesubstrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein saidto-be-held part includes: a cylindrical flange connector centered onsaid central axis; and an opposing-member flange part that extendsradially outward from an upper end of said flange connector, saidopposing-member conveying mechanism supports said opposing-member flangepart of said opposing member from the underside when said opposingmember is located at said first position, and a labyrinth is formedbetween said opposing-member conveying mechanism and an upper surface ofsaid opposing-member flange part of said opposing member that is locatedat said second position.
 11. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 9, wherein said processing liquid nozzle is insertedinto said to-be-held part through a through hole of said opposing-memberconveying mechanism above said to-be-held part, and the gas from saidgas supply part is supplied toward said through hole.
 12. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the gas from said gassupply part is supplied from said outer surface of said processingliquid nozzle to said gap.
 13. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 8, wherein said opposing-member conveying mechanismincludes: an opposing-member holder for holding said opposing member;and an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism for, with said opposingmember being located at said second position, retracting saidopposing-member holder from above said opposing member, and with saidopposing-member holder being retracted, said processing liquid nozzle isinserted through an upper opening of said to-be-held part, and the gasfrom said gas supply part is supplied from said outer surface of saidprocessing liquid nozzle to said gap.
 14. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas from said gas supplypart is supplied obliquely downward and obliquely upward from said outersurface of said processing liquid nozzle.
 15. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 13, wherein said to-be-held part includes:a cylindrical flange connector centered on said central axis; and anopposing-member flange part that extends radially outward from an upperend of said flange connector, said processing liquid nozzle includes: anozzle body that is inserted in said flange connector of said to-be-heldpart; and a nozzle flange part that extends radially outward from a topof said nozzle body and opposes an upper surface of said opposing-memberflange part, and a labyrinth is formed between said upper surface ofsaid opposing-member flange part and a lower surface of said nozzleflange part.
 16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim15, wherein the gas from said gas supply part is supplied from saidouter surface of said processing liquid nozzle toward said labyrinth.17. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,comprising: a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a horizontalposition; an opposing member that opposes an upper surface of saidsubstrate, has an opposing-member opening in a central part, and has atubular to-be-held part that protrudes upward from the periphery of saidopposing-member opening; an opposing-member holder for holding saidto-be-held part of said opposing member; an opposing-member elevatingmechanism for moving said opposing member relative to said substrateholder between a first position and a second position in an up-downdirection; a processing liquid nozzle located on the inner side of saidto-be-held part and for ejecting a processing liquid through saidopposing-member opening toward said upper surface of said substrate; asubstrate rotation mechanism for rotating said substrate along with saidsubstrate holder about a central axis pointing in said up-downdirection; and an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism for movingsaid opposing-member holder between a holding position above saidopposing member and a retracted position around said opposing member,wherein said opposing member that is located at said first position isheld by said opposing-member holder and spaced above from said substrateholder, and said opposing member that is located at said second positionis held by said substrate holder and rotated along with said substrateholder by said substrate rotation mechanism, said to-be-held partincludes: a cylindrical flange connector centered on said central axis;and an opposing-member flange part that extends radially outward from anupper end of said flange connector, said opposing-member holderincludes: a first flange supporter that is in contact with and supportspart of said opposing-member flange part of said opposing member fromthe underside when said opposing member is located at said firstposition; a second flange supporter that is located on the opposite sideto said first flange supporter with said flange connector locatedtherebetween and that is in contact with and supports part of saidopposing-member flange part of said opposing member from the undersidewhen said opposing member is located at said first position; and aholder body on which said first flange supporter and said second flangesupporter are mounted, and with said opposing member being located atsaid second position, said first flange supporter and said second flangesupporter are horizontally moved to space said first flange supporterand said second flange supporter radially outward from saidopposing-member flange part or to dispose said first flange supporterand said second flange supporter below said opposing-member flange part.18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 17, whereinsaid first flange supporter and said second flange supporter are fixedto said holder body, said opposing-member-holder moving mechanismhorizontally rotates said holder body to move said opposing-memberholder between said holding position and said retracted position, andthe rotation of said holder body causes said first flange supporter andsaid second flange supporter to be spaced radially outward from saidopposing-member flange part or to be disposed below said opposing-memberflange part.
 19. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim17, wherein said opposing-member holder further includes a supportermoving mechanism for moving said first flange supporter and said secondflange supporter relative to said holder body, and with said holder bodybeing located at said holding position, said supporter moving mechanismmoves said first flange supporter and said second flange supporter tospace said first flange supporter and said second flange supporterradially outward from said opposing-member flange part or to disposesaid first flange supporter and said second flange supporter below saidopposing-member flange part.
 20. A substrate processing apparatus forprocessing a substrate, comprising: a substrate holder for holding asubstrate in a horizontal position; an opposing member that opposes anupper surface of said substrate; a processing liquid supply part forsupplying a processing liquid to said upper surface of said substrate; asubstrate rotation mechanism for rotating said substrate along with saidsubstrate holder about a central axis pointing in an up-down direction;an opposing-member storage part capable of housing said opposing member;and an opposing-member conveying mechanism for holding said opposingmember, moving said opposing member relative to said substrate holderbetween a first position and a second position in said up-downdirection, and conveying said opposing member between a position abovesaid substrate holder and said opposing-member storage part, whereinsaid opposing member that is located at said first position is held bysaid opposing-member conveying mechanism and spaced above from saidsubstrate holder, and said opposing member that is located at saidsecond position is held by said substrate holder and rotated along withsaid substrate holder by said substrate rotation mechanism, and saidopposing-member conveying mechanism conveys said opposing member fromthe position above said substrate holder into said opposing-memberstorage part and conveys another opposing member housed in saidopposing-member storage part out of said opposing-member storage part tothe position above said substrate holder.
 21. The substrate processingapparatus according to claim 20, wherein said opposing member and saidanother opposing member are of different types.
 22. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 20, further comprising: anopposing-member cleaning mechanism for cleaning said opposing memberthat is housed in said opposing-member storage part.
 23. The substrateprocessing apparatus according to claim 20, wherein said opposing-memberstorage part includes a plurality of storage parts that are stacked ontop of one another in said up-down direction and each are capable ofhousing an opposing member.
 24. The substrate processing apparatusaccording to claim 20, wherein said opposing-member conveying mechanismincludes a forward-backward movement mechanism for moving said opposingmember in a forward-backward direction relative to said opposing-memberstorage part.
 25. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim20, further comprising: a mobility limiting part for limiting apositional shift of said opposing member caused by said opposing-memberconveying mechanism.
 26. The substrate processing apparatus according toclaim 20, wherein said opposing member includes: an opposing-member bodythat opposes said upper surface of said substrate and has anopposing-member opening in a central part; and a tubular to-be-held partthat protrudes upward from the periphery of said opposing-member openingof said opposing-member body and is held by said opposing-memberconveying mechanism, said to-be-held part includes: a cylindrical flangeconnector centered on said central axis; and an opposing-member flangepart that extends radially outward from an upper end of said flangeconnector, said opposing-member conveying mechanism includes: a firstflange supporter that is in contact with and supports part of saidopposing-member flange part of said opposing member from the undersidewhen said opposing member is located at said first position; a secondflange supporter that is located on the opposite side to said firstflange supporter with said flange connector located therebetween andthat is in contact with and supports part of said opposing-member flangepart of said opposing member from the underside when said opposingmember is located at said first position; and a holder body on whichsaid first flange supporter and said second flange supporter aremounted, with said opposing member being located at said secondposition, said opposing-member conveying mechanism horizontally rotatessaid holder body to space said first flange supporter and said secondflange supporter radially outward from said opposing-member flange partor to dispose said first flange supporter and said second flangesupporter below said opposing-member flange part, and said flangeconnector is separable on at least one side in a direction along saidfirst flange supporter and said second flange supporter from a spacebetween said first flange supporter and said second flange supporter.27. A substrate processing system for processing a substrate,comprising: the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 20;another substrate processing apparatus; an apparatus housing chamber forhousing said substrate processing apparatus; and another apparatushousing chamber for housing said another substrate processing apparatus.28. A substrate processing system for processing a substrate,comprising: the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 20;another substrate processing apparatus that shares said opposing-memberstorage part and said opposing-member conveying mechanism with saidsubstrate processing apparatus and has a similar configuration to aconfiguration of said substrate processing apparatus; a shared space inwhich said opposing-member storage part and said opposing-memberconveying mechanism are located; an apparatus housing chamber in whichthe configuration of said substrate processing apparatus, excluding saidopposing-member storage part and said opposing-member conveyingmechanism, is located; and another apparatus housing chamber in whichthe configuration of said another substrate processing apparatus,excluding said opposing-member storage part and said opposing-memberconveying mechanism, is located.
 29. A substrate processing method ofprocessing a substrate with a substrate processing apparatus thatcomprises: a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a horizontalposition; an opposing member that opposes an upper surface of saidsubstrate and has an opposing-member opening in a central part; anopposing-member conveying mechanism for holding said opposing member andmoving said opposing member relative to said substrate holder between afirst position and a second position in an up-down direction; a firstprocessing liquid supply part for supplying a first processing liquidthrough a first processing liquid nozzle to said upper surface of saidsubstrate; a second processing liquid supply part for supplying a secondprocessing liquid through a second processing liquid nozzle to saidupper surface of said substrate; a nozzle moving mechanism forindividually moving said first processing liquid nozzle and said secondprocessing liquid nozzle, specifically, moving said first processingliquid nozzle between a supply position above said opposing-memberopening and a first retracted position around said substrate holder andmoving said second processing liquid nozzle between said supply positionand a second retracted position around said substrate holder; asubstrate rotation mechanism for rotating said substrate along with saidsubstrate holder about a central axis pointing in said up-downdirection; and a gas supply part for supplying a gas to a space betweensaid opposing member and said substrate, wherein said opposing memberthat is located at said first position is held by said opposing-memberconveying mechanism and spaced above from said substrate holder, andsaid opposing member that is located at said second position is held bysaid substrate holder and rotated along with said substrate holder bysaid substrate rotation mechanism, said substrate processing methodcomprising: a) moving said opposing member from said first position tosaid second position; b) supplying said first processing liquid fromsaid first processing liquid nozzle that is located at said supplyposition through said opposing-member opening to said substrate; c)moving said first processing liquid nozzle from said supply position tosaid first retracted position; d) moving said second processing liquidnozzle from said second retracted position to said supply position; ande) supplying said second processing liquid through said opposing-memberopening to said substrate.
 30. The substrate processing method accordingto claim 29, wherein said opposing-member conveying mechanism includesan opposing-member holder for holding said opposing member, thesubstrate processing method further comprising: retracting saidopposing-member holder from above said opposing member between saidoperations a) and b), wherein, in said operation b), the gas from saidgas supply part is supplied from said first processing liquid nozzle,and in said operation e), the gas from said gas supply part is suppliedfrom said second processing liquid nozzle.
 31. The substrate processingmethod according to claim 29, further comprising: cleaning said firstprocessing liquid nozzle that is located at said first retractedposition in parallel with said operation d) or e).
 32. A substrateprocessing method of processing a substrate with a substrate processingapparatus that comprises: a substrate holder for holding a substrate ina horizontal position; an opposing member that opposes an upper surfaceof said substrate, has an opposing-member opening in a central part, andhas a tubular to-be-held part that protrudes upward from the peripheryof said opposing-member opening; an opposing-member holder for holdingsaid to-be-held part of said opposing member; an opposing-memberelevating mechanism for moving said opposing member relative to saidsubstrate holder between a first position and a second position in anup-down direction; a processing liquid nozzle located on the inner sideof said to-be-held part and for ejecting a processing liquid throughsaid opposing-member opening toward said upper surface of saidsubstrate; and a substrate rotation mechanism for rotating saidsubstrate along with said substrate holder about a central axis pointingin said up-down direction, said substrate processing apparatus furthercomprising: an opposing-member-holder moving mechanism for moving saidopposing-member holder between a holding position above said opposingmember and a retracted position around said opposing member, whereinsaid opposing member that is located at said first position is held bysaid opposing-member holder and spaced above from said substrate holder,and said opposing member that is located at said second position is heldby said substrate holder and rotated along with said substrate holder bysaid substrate rotation mechanism, said to-be-held part includes: acylindrical flange connector centered on said central axis; and anopposing-member flange part that extends radially outward from an upperend of said flange connector, said opposing-member holder includes: afirst flange supporter that is in contact with and supports part of saidopposing-member flange part of said opposing member from the undersidewhen said opposing member is located at said first position; a secondflange supporter that is located on the opposite side to said firstflange supporter with said flange connector located therebetween andthat is in contact with and supports part of said opposing-member flangepart of said opposing member from the underside when said opposingmember is located at said first position; and a holder body on whichsaid first flange supporter and said second flange supporter aremounted, said substrate processing method comprising: a) moving saidopposing member from said first position to said second position; b)start rotation of said substrate, said substrate holder, and saidopposing member; c) horizontally moving said first flange supporter andsaid second flange supporter to space said first flange supporter andsaid second flange supporter radially outward from said opposing-memberflange part; d) supplying said processing liquid from said processingliquid nozzle to said substrate; e) horizontally moving said firstflange supporter and said second flange supporter to dispose said firstflange supporter and said second flange supporter below saidopposing-member flange part; f) stopping the rotation of said substrate,said substrate holder, and said opposing member; and g) moving saidopposing member from said second position to said first position. 33.The substrate processing method according to claim 32, wherein saidfirst flange supporter and said second flange supporter are fixed tosaid holder body, and said opposing-member-holder moving mechanismhorizontally rotates said holder body to move said opposing-memberholder between said holding position and said retracted position, insaid operation c), the rotation of said holder body causes said firstflange supporter and said second flange supporter to be spaced radiallyoutward from said opposing-member flange part, and in said operation e),the rotation of said holder body causes said first flange supporter andsaid second flange supporter to be disposed below said opposing-memberflange part.
 34. The substrate processing method according to claim 32,wherein said opposing-member holder further includes a supporter movingmechanism for moving said first flange supporter and said second flangesupporter relative to said holder body, in said operation c), with saidholder body being located at said holding position, said supportermoving mechanism moves said first flange supporter and said secondflange supporter to space said first flange supporter and said secondflange supporter radially outward from said opposing-member flange part,and in said operation e), with said holder body being located at saidholding position, said supporter moving mechanism moves said firstflange supporter and said second flange supporter to dispose said firstflange supporter and said second flange supporter below saidopposing-member flange part.
 35. A substrate processing method ofprocessing a substrate with a substrate processing apparatus thatcomprises: a substrate holder for holding a substrate in a horizontalposition; an opposing member that opposes an upper surface of saidsubstrate; a processing liquid supply part for supplying a processingliquid to said upper surface of said substrate; and a substrate rotationmechanism for rotating said substrate along with said substrate holderabout a central axis pointing in an up-down direction, said substrateprocessing apparatus further comprising: an opposing-member storage partcapable of housing said opposing member; and an opposing-memberconveying mechanism for holding said opposing member, moving saidopposing member relative to said substrate holder between a firstposition and a second position in said up-down direction, and conveyingsaid opposing member between a position above said substrate holder andsaid opposing-member storage part, wherein said opposing member that islocated at said first position is held by said opposing-member conveyingmechanism and spaced above from said substrate holder, said opposingmember that is located at said second position is held by said substrateholder and rotated along with said substrate holder by said substraterotation mechanism, said substrate processing method comprising: a)conveying said opposing member from the position above said substrateholder into said opposing-member storage part; and b) conveying anotheropposing member housed in said opposing-member storage part out of saidopposing-member storage part to the position above said substrateholder.
 36. The substrate processing method according to claim 35,wherein said opposing member and said another opposing member are ofdifferent types, the substrate processing method further comprising:before said operation b), determining a type of said another opposingmember according to a property of processing to be performed after saidoperation b) by said substrate processing apparatus.
 37. The substrateprocessing method according to claim 35, further comprising: after saidoperation a), cleaning said opposing member that is housed in saidopposing-member storage part.
 38. The substrate processing methodaccording to claim 35, wherein in said operation a), said opposingmember is moved in a forward-backward direction relative to saidopposing-member storage part and conveyed into said opposing-memberstorage part.
 39. The substrate processing method according to claim 35,wherein in said operation a), a positional shift of said opposing memberthat is being conveyed is limited.